Cape Canaveral, Fla. — Atlantis' heat shield is safe to return to Earth, mission managers decided Wednesday, a day before the space shuttle was planned to land in Florida. A forecast for thunderstorms appeared to be the main obstacle for its return.
The shuttle's first landing opportunity at 12:55 p.m. CDT today had thunderstorms predicted to be within 34 miles of the landing strip at Kennedy Space Center and clouds within 8,000 feet, both violations of flight rules. A second opportunity is available at 2:30 p.m. CDT.
Before signing off on the landing, mission managers held an unusual, last-minute meeting to clear up three remaining technical issues. Material known as gap filler appeared to be sticking out of a wing, a thermal blanket had peeled back during the June 8 launch and debris was found floating after Atlantis undocked from the international space station on Tuesday.
Engineers had wanted to make sure the gap filler could withstand the heat and aerodynamics of re-entry and recheck data on the thermal blanket. Mission managers have said the debris may have been ice.
Astronaut Sunita "Suni" Williams, is returning on Atlantis after spending more than six months at the space station. She set the record for longest single spaceflight by a woman.
"I'm looking forward to going to the beach and hopefully taking a walk with my husband and my dog on the beach," she said. "I can't wait for a good piece of pizza."
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