SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS COMING HOME DELAYED AGAIN TODAY MAY 23, 2009

For the second day in a row, Space Shuttle Atlantis's touchdown was scrubbed. They really prefer to land it in Florida, as it cost a lot to land it at Edwards Air Force base. They have to piggyback it back to Florida when they are forced to land it there.
Maybe the stormy weather in Florida will clear up today and overnight and they can land in Florida on Sunday.To be continued....

Space Shuttle Landing Coverage








Image above: The Shuttle Landing Facility's 15,000-foot long, 300-foot wide runway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida has 1,000-foot paved overruns on each end, and 50-foot asphalt shoulders. When the shuttle lands from the north, it's called Runway 15. When it lands from the south, it's Runway 33. Image credit: NASA

STS-125 Landing Blog

Crew Given "Go" for Launch and Entry Suits
Sat, 23 May 2009 06:14:59 AM EDT

The Atlantis crew has been given the "go" to put on their launch and entry suits. CAPCOM Greg Johnson told the crew that the weather at Kennedy Space Center is still "dynamic. It's right on the border. We're continuing to watch it."

After a successful mission, space shuttle Atlantis and crew are scheduled to return to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday after Friday's two landing opportunities were waved off because of weather. Saturday's first landing opportunity is at 9:16 a.m. EDT.

The seven-member crew conducted the final servicing mission to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, extending the life of the orbiting observatory into the next decade.

Join us right here beginning at 7:30 a.m. EDT for moment-to-moment coverage of Atlantis' return. Click on link below to go to the Nasa.gov page
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/landing_blog.html














Image above: The STS-125 crew poses for a photo on the middeck of space shuttle Atlantis. Pictured on the front row are Commander Scott Altman (center), Pilot Gregory C. Johnson, and Mission Specialist Megan McArthur. Pictured on the back row (left to right) are Andrew Feustel, John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino and Michael Good, all mission specialists. Photo Credit: NASA

Six Landing Opportunities for Atlantis Today

Six landing opportunities are available for space shuttle Atlantis and the STS-125 crew to return to Earth today.

Atlantis’ first landing opportunity is at 9:15 a.m. EDT on orbit 180. If controllers elect to take it, Commander Scott Altman will perform the deorbit burn at 8:01 a.m. to begin the descent to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. There are two other opportunities available for Atlantis to land at Kennedy, as well as three opportunities at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

The first California landing opportunity would start with a deorbit burn at 9:29 a.m., and result in landing at 10:45 a.m.

Thunderstorms, low clouds and showers prevented Atlantis’ astronauts from landing yesterday at Kennedy.

Atlantis arrived at the Hubble Space Telescope on May 13, and the STS-125 crew performed five spacewalks on five consecutive days to repair and upgrade the telescope.

STS-125 is the 126th shuttle mission.

Atlantis and Crew Target a Saturday Landing

Space shuttle Atlantis and a crew of seven astronauts were scheduled to land Friday following their successful mission to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Weather concerns at the prime landing site, the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, delayed their return until Saturday. Over the previous few days, the site received more than 16 inches of rain, which continued throughout the day on Friday.

The team at mission control in Houston will evaluate weather conditions at Kennedy before giving a "go" for Atlantis and its crew to land at 9:16 a.m. Saturday. A second Kennedy landing opportunity comes at 10:54 a.m, with two additional landing times at Edwards Air Force Base in California at 10:46 a.m. and 12:24 p.m.