NASA wants to avoid Edwards because of the increased cost, risk and schedule hit that comes from having to ferry the shuttle home atop a 747 jumbo jet. Another reason is the sincere desire to more quickly reunite the astronauts with their families, who are waiting in Florida for the homecoming.
That reunion has been a long time in coming for the Expedition Five crewmembers who have been in space now for 184 days.
Saturday's weather forecasts predict acceptable conditions on both coasts. Winds in Florida might offer a slight concern, but the conditions in California are expected to be rock solid ideal.
So the plan will be to make two attempts to land in Florida and, if that doesn't work out for some reason, come home on the first opportunity to the Mojave Desert at Edwards. Here are the times for Saturday's landing opportunities (all times EST, add five hours for GMT):
Orbit 215 to KSC
Deorbit: 1:33 p.m. Land: 2:37 p.m.
Orbit 216 to KSC
Deorbit: 3:10 p.m. Land: 4:14 p.m.
Orbit 217 to EDW
Deorbit: 4:41 p.m. Land: 5:45 p.m.
Orbit 218 to EDW
Deorbit: 6:18 p.m. Land: 7:22 p.m.
This will be our final update for today. Expect our next update about 9 a.m. EST on Saturday.
Journey's end is in sight
Saturday, Dec. 7, 2002 at 9:15 a.m. EST
The first weather briefing has concluded at Mission Control in Houston and the summary from commentator Rob Navias is that "We will be on the ground at one coast or another by the end of the day."
The storm front that turned Friday into a cold and wet day along Florida's Space Coast has passed through the area, and this morning it is a mostly sunny day, cool and breezy -- perfect for a day of holiday shopping but not completely a sure thing yet for a shuttle landing.
The forecast for the first landing opportunity at KSC warns of a slight chance of broken clouds at 3,000 feet and the crosswinds at the runway are right at the limit.
The forecast for the second landing opportunity at KSC loses the chance of broken clouds and shows the winds calming, so the best bet at this writing is that Endeavour would come home to Florida on that orbit.
Weather at Edwards Air Force Base in California is "pristine," Navias said, so if there is no landing in Florida on the first two attempts, the third landing opportunity would be employed and the shuttle would find itself aiming for a touchdown on the Mojave Desert.
When briefed of the situation, Endeavour commander Jim Wetherbee replied "Sounds like a good day to get this train rolling."
The veteran shuttle skipper also noted that he would look forward to landing the shuttle in a crosswind at KSC to help gather data on the effect of such winds on Endeavour's landing gear brakes and tires. If the space agency were able to gain more experience actually landing in crosswinds, there is a chance the flight rules for future missions could be changed to tolerate higher crosswinds.
The next milestone today will come in about 90 minutes or so when another briefing will be held that will lead to the decision to close the shuttle's payload bay doors -- an event now scheduled to take place at 10:52 a.m. EST.
Here are the landing opportunities for today:
Orbit 215 to KSC
Deorbit: 1:33 p.m. Land: 2:37 p.m.
Orbit 216 to KSC
Deorbit: 3:10 p.m. Land: 4:14 p.m.
Orbit 217 to EDW
Deorbit: 4:41 p.m. Land: 5:45 p.m.
Orbit 218 to EDW
Deorbit: 6:18 p.m. Land: 7:22 p.m.
Expect our next update about 11 a.m. EST, earlier if events warrant.
Endeavour readied for Florida landing
Saturday, Dec. 7, 2002 at 10:50 a.m. EST
Shuttle Endeavour's crew has just been given the 'Go' for payload bay door closing in preparation for a fiery plunge through Earth's atmosphere and a long, gliding descent to the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility.
A landing weather briefing has concluded at Mission Control in Houston and forecast conditions for the first Florida landing opportunity remain unchanged - a slight chance of broken clouds at 3,000 feet and crosswinds at the runway right at the upper acceptable limit.
The forecast for the second landing opportunity at KSC loses the chance of broken clouds and shows the winds calming, so the best bet at this writing is that Endeavour would come home to Florida on that orbit.
Weather at Edwards Air Force Base in California is described as "pristine," so if there is no landing in Florida on the first two attempts, the third landing opportunity would be employed and the shuttle would find itself aiming for a touchdown on the Mojave Desert.
Here are the landing opportunities for today:
Orbit 215 to KSC
Deorbit: 1:33 p.m. Land: 2:37 p.m.
Orbit 216 to KSC
Deorbit: 3:10 p.m. Land: 4:14 p.m.
Orbit 217 to EDW
Deorbit: 4:41 p.m. Land: 5:45 p.m.
Orbit 218 to EDW
Deorbit: 6:18 p.m. Land: 7:22 p.m.
Expect our next update about 1 p.m. EST, earlier if events warrant.
Standing by on a deorbit decision
Saturday, Dec. 7, 2002 at 1 p.m. EST
Flight controllers continue to plan for shuttle Endeavour's return to Earth on the first landing opportunity today, but a final "go" for the planned 1:33 p.m. EST de-orbit burn has yet to be offered. That could happen at any moment, however.
Weather at the Kennedy Space Center is looking good with the exception of the crosswinds at the Shuttle Landing Facility. They have been blowing right at, and at times slightly above, the 15-knot limit.
There are no issues with any clouds in the area, which had offered a slight concern earlier today.
Astronaut Kent Rominger is flying a Shuttle Training Aircraft at KSC and evaluating the conditions. His reports have generally been optimistic, but there remains a few concerns with winds and there have been reports of some turbulence on the final approach.
"Qualitatively, I'd say it's a good day to land," Rominger reported moments ago. "I think it is go conditions."
In space the shuttle crew are in their suits, drinking fluids and have pre-started the auxiliary power units, so things are as close to bringing Endeavour home as they have been since the first landing opportunity was available on Wednesday.
If the de-orbit burn happens at 1:33 p.m. EST, landing at KSC is expected at 2:37 p.m. EST.
The early plan is for Endeavour to land on runway 15, but that could be changed depending on the location of some scattered clouds that are in the area.
Stay tuned for an update on the de-orbit burn within the next 30 minutes.
Go for de-orbit burn given
Saturday, Dec. 7, 2002 at 1:10 p.m. EST
Shuttle Endeavour has been given a "go" for de-orbit burn at 1:33 p.m. EST.
Touchdown in Florida would come at 2:37 p.m. EST.
The twin orbital maneuvering engines will be fired for two minutes and 58 seconds to slow the spaceplane down by 336 feet per second and set up an hour-long hypersonic dive toward the Kennedy Space Center.
A potential problem with a valve in the right-hand engine -- which is believed to be a sensor failure and not an actual problem -- is on everyone's mind, and Mission Control has just reviewed the procedure commander Jim Wetherbee will use in case the engine does not shut down as planned.
If such an overburn happened, and depending on exactly what happened, the crew is prepared to flip the shuttle around and use the steering jets to correct for the necessary speed.
Weather at the Kennedy Space Center is forecast to be go, and observed conditions by Shuttle Training Aircraft pilot Kent Rominger indicates no worries for landing -- despite some fairly stiff crosswinds that remain just at the limits but apparently are trending downward.
The latest word on runway choice now favors Runway 33, putting the shuttle's final approach from the southeast to the northwest -- but depending on the exact location of some scattered clouds in the area the runway end could be switched up until a few minutes before landing.
Stay tuned to this page for confirmation of the de-orbit burn after it takes place at 1:33 p.m. EST.
Endeavour heading home to Florida
Saturday, Dec. 7, 2002 at 1:33 p.m. EST
Shuttle Endeavour is heading home to Florida's Kennedy Space Center.
The Orbiter's twin orbital maneuvering engines are being fired for two minutes and 58 seconds to slow the spaceplane down by 336 feet per second and set up an hour-long hypersonic dive toward the 3-mile long Runway 33 at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility.
The Orbiter's final approach will be from the southeast to the northwest, but depending on the exact location of some scattered clouds in the area, the runway end could be switched up until a few minutes before landing.
Touchdown in Florida will occur at 2:37 p.m. EST.
Weather at the Kennedy Space Center is forecast to be 'Go,' and observed conditions by Shuttle Training Aircraft pilot Kent Rominger indicates no worries for landing -- despite some fairly stiff crosswinds that remain just at the limits but apparently are trending downward.
Stay tuned to this page for confirmation of landing at 2:37 p.m. EST.
Endeavour lands safely in Florida
Saturday, Dec. 7, 2002 at 2:37 p.m. EST
Shuttle Endeavour has safely landed at Florida's Kennedy Space Center after a record-breaking series of landing delays. Endeavour touched down on the Shuttle Landing Facility's runway 33 at 2:37 p.m. EST, ending an almost 14-day mission to the International Space Station.
Commander Jim Wetherbee established a new shuttle program record as the first person to land an Orbiter on five different occasions. Wetherbee and pilot Paul Lockhart guided Endeavour on its hour-long hypersonic plunge through Earth's atmosphere to a landing at the Florida Spaceport.
Endeavour also carried the three returning members of ISS Expedition Five - Valeri Korzun, Peggy Whitson and Sergei Treschev - who spent 185 days in space, after delivering the three new crew members of ISS Expedition Six for a 4-month stay onboard the orbiting outpost.
The next mission for Endeavour will be STS-115, now scheduled for May 2003.
Stay tuned to this page for a final wrap-up report later today.
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