The Atlantis astronauts can expect a spirited reception as they return to Earth, following a successful 13-day mission. Dozens of Kennedy workers gathered before the shuttle's July 8 lift off to support a wake up song. Photo Credit/NASA
The Atlantis astronauts can expect great weather as they attempt to descend to Earth on Thursday, following a successful 13-day re-supply mission to the International Space Station that will mark the end of NASA’s long running shuttle program.
The orbiter is scheduled to touchdown at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 5:56 a.m., EDT, under mostly clear but darkened skies.
Commander Chris Ferguson, pilot Doug Hurley and mission specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim expect an emotional homecoming marked by feelings of achievement, loss and uncertainty. Many who’ve worked on the shuttle program for some or all of the last three decades will have to look elsewhere for future employment.
“It’s going to be tough, it’s going to be an emotional moment for a lot of people who have dedicated their lives to the shuttle program for 30 years,” Ferguson told CBS News on the eve of the shuttle’s return. “But we’re going to try to keep it upbeat, we’re going to try to keep it light and we’re going to try to make it a celebration of the tremendous, crowning achievements that have occurred over the last 30 years with the tremendous satellites that have been deployed from the shuttle and of course, construction of the International Space Station.”
Cameras aboard Atlantis were focused on the Earth during the orbiter's final day in space. Photo Credit/NASA
The mood in NASA’s Mission Control was much the same.
“Our hope is that this is not the end,” said Tony Ceccacci, the NASA flight director who will supervise the orbiter’s landing from Mission Control. “We know it will be a rough spot for awhile, but we hope that when we do get a plan, a good direction, we can come back here and do what we have been doing for the shuttle and all the years before that for Mercury, Gemini and Apollo. We will continue to look toward the future.”
A veteran, who served as a flight controller for the first shuttle mission in 1981, Ceccacci plans to speak with his control room team after Atlantis is safely on the ground. He’ll invite colleagues to watch NASA’s own live video of the shuttle runway until Ferguson and his crew leave the landing strip.
Though the weather outlook was what one commentator called “severe clear,” the Atlantis astronauts have a back up opportunity to descend at 7:32 a.m., EDT.
The mission is the shuttle program’s 135th flight, and the 37th to participate in the assembly and outfitting of the space station.
Atlantis lifted off on July 8 and docked with the orbiting science laboratory two days later.
Joined by the six U. S., Russian and Japanese astronauts on the station, the small shuttle crew off loaded food, spare parts, research gear and other supplies — enough to sustain the orbital outpost through 2012 while NASA transitions to commercial re-suppliers. Though it will take longer, NASA also plans to transition to U. S. companies for the transportation of astronauts to and from the space station.
During the final scheduled day in space, the shuttle fliers deployed an eight pound satellite called PicoSat, which will orbit the Earth for several months serving as a tracking reference for tiny spacecraft called “nano sats” and participate in an experiment to monitor changes in the ionosphere.
Working with their flight control team, the astronauts also checked out the shuttle’s hydraulic and communications systems. Each passed the pre-landing tests.
“We have a really good shot to come home,” said Ceccacci.
Endeavour returned from her final mission on June 1, and Discovery completed her final voyage on March 9. In retirement, Atlantis will go on public display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex near Titusville, Fla., Discovery is headed to the Air & Space Museum in suburban Washington D. C., and Enveavour wil go on display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles.