Houston – Hours after undocking from the international space station Tuesday, Atlantis’ seven astronauts finished a final inspection of the space shuttle to make sure it was ready to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere.
Atlantis’ 13-day mission was scheduled to end with landing at 11:54 a.m. MDT on Thursday, although the weather at Kennedy Space Center looked iffy.
Continuing a tradition, space station commander Fyodor Yurchikhin rang a bell and said, “Atlantis departing,” as the space shuttle pulled away.
Pilot Lee Archambault steered Atlantis away from the space station and went on a quick trip around the station to photograph the solar arrays the crew installed on the half-built home 220 miles above Earth.
More than an hour after the undocking, a piece of debris that looked like a blanket and at least five tiny flashing particles floated by the space station.
While NASA engineers are still reviewing video and photographs and don’t know what the piece of debris might be, the flashing particles could be pieces of ice that are a byproduct of the shuttle’s jets, said flight director Cathy Koerner.
A camera attached to a robotic arm and boom surveyed the shuttle’s wings and nose cap to make sure the shuttle was undamaged.
The inspection was conducted with Atlantis about 10 miles from the station so the shuttle could return to the outpost if something was wrong.
Even if Atlantis is given the go-ahead, the weather may not cooperate. A front in the Florida Panhandle was expected to send showers to the Kennedy Space Center on Thursday and Friday.
Atlantis has conserved enough fuel to last until Sunday, but managers want the shuttle to land by Saturday. The flight would be extended to Sunday only if there were technical problems that needed to be fixed before landing. If needed, the backup landing site in California won’t be activated until Friday, and another backup site in New Mexico won’t be activated until Saturday.
Atlantis viewable
Space shuttle Atlantis’ transit will be visible from Denver at 10:25 tonight for two minutes. Look 12 degrees above the horizon to the west-northwest for its appearance. It will travel toward the southwest, disappearing from view at 33 degrees above the horizon.
Source: NASA (spaceflight1.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings)
