NASA skips Thursday's landing opportunities

2007-06-22 10:52:15 [ Big Normal Small ]    　Comment

·Bad weather forced flight controllers to wave off landing opportunities for Atlantis Thursday. ·The Atlantis crew will get an extra day in space. ·The shuttle has four landing opportunities available Friday.

A camera atop the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., captured this view of the Shuttle Landing Facility on Thursday. (Photo: NASA TV)
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Children holding posters and placards pray for the safe return of U.S. astronaut Sunita Williams in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad June 21, 2007. Williams is set to return home on June 21 as space shuttle Atlantis successfully undocks from the International Space Station. Williams had set an endurance record for the longest spaceflight by a woman during her stint aboard the space station. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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    WASHINGTON, June 21 (Xinhua) -- NASA managers decided to skip Thursday's two landing opportunities for shuttle Atlantis. Now hopes turn to Friday's opportunities, said NASA TV.

    Rain showers and a low cloud ceilings in the vicinity of Kennedy Space Center in Florida forced flight controllers to wave off both opportunities on Thursday.

    "We looked as long and hard as we think is reasonable and the rain showers and (cloud) ceilings are going to keep us from making it into Florida today," NASA's mission control center radioed Atlantis' seven astronauts.

    Now the Atlantis crew will get an extra day in space because of the persistent poor weather. The shuttle has four landing opportunities available Friday, with the first at 2:16 p.m. EDT (1826 GMT) and the second at 3:51 p.m. EDT (1951 GMT) at KSC, according to NASA mission control center.

    If Florida weather does not cooperate on Friday, two opportunities are available at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Opportunities are also available Saturday, said NASA.

Atlantis undocks from ISS

In this image from NASA TV, the shuttle Atlantis is seen from a camera aboard the International Space Station as the orbiter departs the station June 19, 2007. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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    WASHINGTON, June 19 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. space shuttle Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) at 10:42 a.m. EDT (1442 GMT) Tuesday, wrapping up a 10-day joint operation, according to NASA TV.

    "Houston (Mission Control Center) and ISS, Atlantis, confirmed physical separation," shuttle commander Frederick Sturckow reported.  Full story

 

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