Endeavour rests on Runway 15 at the Kennedy Space Center after predawn landing. Photo Credit/NASA TV
The shuttle Endeavour sailed through the Florida skies in the predawn Wednesday, touching down at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to end a successful 16-day, final mission for the youngest orbiter.
The spacecraft touched down at 2:35 a.m., EDT, with Commander Mark Kelly at the controls.
Not far from the coastal runway, shuttle Atlantis was nearing the end of its 3.5 mile trip from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39A, where it will under go preparations for a July 8 lift off on the final shuttle program mission.
“Great job,” radioed Mission Control as Kelly, pilot Greg H. Johnson, Mike Fincke, Drew Feustel, Greg Chamitoff and Roberto Vittori of the European Space Agency began to climb out of the space plane.
“It’s nice to bring Endeavour back to the Kennedy Space Center,” said Kelly.
Atlantis nears Launch Pad 39A, as Endeavour lands. Photo Credit/NASA TV
Endeavour’s long mission featured deliveries of the $2 billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and the Express Logistics Carrier-3 to the International Space Station.
The AMS is perched on the station’s long solar power truss for a decade long search for primordial antimatter, dark matter and other elusive high energy particles. The ELC-3 rests on the opposite side on the station, where it holds spare components for the station’s thermal control, communications and robotics systems.
The Endeavour crew was to under go medical checks and re-unite with family members in Florida. They were scheduled to return to Houston on Thursday, when they will be colleagues from the Johnson Space Center.