Hum Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 CAPE CANAVERAL, FL ? Space shuttle Atlantis and its crew landed safely at Cape Canaveral Wednesday morning, wrapping up a 5 million-mile journey highlighted by the successful delivery of a new space-station lab. The shuttle and its seven astronauts touched down at 9:07 a.m. at NASA's spaceport, where their families and top space program managers eagerly awaited their arrival. Before the final approach, Mission Control informed commander Stephen Frick that the landing weather was close to ideal, with just thin clouds and a slight tailwind. "Great news," Frick replied. Soon afterward, he and his co-pilot fired the braking rockets, causing Atlantis to drop out of orbit and begin the fiery hourlong descent. The re-entry path took Atlantis across the South Pacific, over El Salvador and Honduras and then the western tip of Cuba, and up into Florida. NASA wanted Atlantis back as soon as possible to clear the way for the Navy to shoot down a dying spy satellite on the verge of smashing into Earth with a load of toxic fuel. more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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