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Space shuttle Endeavour crew prepares for landing
Source: Agencies |
February 22, 2010, Monday
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ASTRONAUTS aboard space shuttle Endeavour closed its cargo bay doors in preparation for landing yesterday, though poor weather may prompt NASA to keep the ship in orbit for another day.
Rain and clouds were forecast at both the shuttle's prime landing site in Florida, where NASA was aiming for a 10:20 pm EST (0320 GMT) touchdown, and at the shuttle's backup landing strip in California.
The US space agency was not expected to make a decision about whether or where to attempt a landing until shortly before the shuttle crew would have to fire Endeavour's braking rockets to leave orbit about an hour before touchdown.
Despite the uncertain forecast, astronaut Rick Sturckow told the shuttle crew from Mission Control in Houston there was "good reason for optimism" about a landing.
"We'll just have to see what happens as the evening progresses," Sturckow radioed the crew.
NASA has two landing opportunities at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and two at California's Edwards Air Force Base on Sunday. The weather forecast worsens for Florida on Monday and improves in California, flight directors said yesterday.
The shuttle, which is returning from delivering the last major pieces of the International Space Station, has enough fuel and supplies to remain in orbit until Tuesday.
Endeavour and its six-member crew blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 8.
Also yesterday, NASA was investigating a series of main computer crashes aboard the space station. The problem did not impact any life support systems, NASA said.
Preliminary analysis indicates the problem may be with communications software in the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory, astronaut Stan Love from Mission Control told the station crew.
The crashes temporality knocked out the crew's audio and television links with Mission Control.
The station, a US$100 billion project of 16 nations, is nearly completed after more than a decade of construction 220 miles (354 km) above Earth.
NASA has four shuttle flights remaining to stock the orbital outpost with spare parts and experiments before retiring the three-ship shuttle fleet later this year.
Rain and clouds were forecast at both the shuttle's prime landing site in Florida, where NASA was aiming for a 10:20 pm EST (0320 GMT) touchdown, and at the shuttle's backup landing strip in California.
The US space agency was not expected to make a decision about whether or where to attempt a landing until shortly before the shuttle crew would have to fire Endeavour's braking rockets to leave orbit about an hour before touchdown.
Despite the uncertain forecast, astronaut Rick Sturckow told the shuttle crew from Mission Control in Houston there was "good reason for optimism" about a landing.
"We'll just have to see what happens as the evening progresses," Sturckow radioed the crew.
NASA has two landing opportunities at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and two at California's Edwards Air Force Base on Sunday. The weather forecast worsens for Florida on Monday and improves in California, flight directors said yesterday.
The shuttle, which is returning from delivering the last major pieces of the International Space Station, has enough fuel and supplies to remain in orbit until Tuesday.
Endeavour and its six-member crew blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 8.
Also yesterday, NASA was investigating a series of main computer crashes aboard the space station. The problem did not impact any life support systems, NASA said.
Preliminary analysis indicates the problem may be with communications software in the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory, astronaut Stan Love from Mission Control told the station crew.
The crashes temporality knocked out the crew's audio and television links with Mission Control.
The station, a US$100 billion project of 16 nations, is nearly completed after more than a decade of construction 220 miles (354 km) above Earth.
NASA has four shuttle flights remaining to stock the orbital outpost with spare parts and experiments before retiring the three-ship shuttle fleet later this year.
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