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#120 by Paul Adams on 21 Sep, 2006 14:09
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Austin - 21/9/2006 8:36 AM
Well, the landing occurred at 3:21am here in CA. But what can I say, I had to get up and watch it. Might need some coffee as I go in to work this morning. But heck, always worth it to see the shuttle glide in. Great landing by Mr. Jett and Mr. Ferguson, and great mission from the entire crew. Welcome home Atlantis!
I'm just over the line in Nevada and did the same thing, the wife was not too happy when the alarm went off at 02:15. Worth it though!!
Paul -
#121 by shuttlefan on 21 Sep, 2006 14:13
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Paul Adams - 21/9/2006 8:52 AM
QuoteAustin - 21/9/2006 8:36 AM
Well, the landing occurred at 3:21am here in CA. But what can I say, I had to get up and watch it. Might need some coffee as I go in to work this morning. But heck, always worth it to see the shuttle glide in. Great landing by Mr. Jett and Mr. Ferguson, and great mission from the entire crew. Welcome home Atlantis!
I'm just over the line in Nevada and did the same thing, the wife was not too happy when the alarm went off at 02:15. Worth it though!!
Paul
It sure is worth it!! Here in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada, the landing ocurred at 4:21. I set my alarm for 3:30 to start watching the TV and internet coverage. Now, I am drinking a pot of coffee before I go to work from 9-6 today!!
SO WORTH IT! -
#122 by DaveS on 21 Sep, 2006 14:23
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I think they're getting ready to tow Atlantis to OPF-1.
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#123 by Gary on 21 Sep, 2006 14:26
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One of the good things about being in the UK - The landing occured about 11:15AM UK time so got to watch it live from work!
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#124 by ianeck on 21 Sep, 2006 14:27
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Shuttlefan, where in SK are you? I'm in Regina. I missed it..didn't wake up til 6:30.
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#125 by psloss on 21 Sep, 2006 14:50
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DaveS - 21/9/2006 10:06 AM
Yeah, she's headed south (more or less) now...
I think they're getting ready to tow Atlantis to OPF-1.
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#126 by psloss on 21 Sep, 2006 15:12
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They've now swapped cameras to the other end of the field...
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#127 by jacqmans on 21 Sep, 2006 15:31
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Sept. 21, 2006
Grey Hautaluoma
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0668
Tracy Young
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
RELEASE: 06-321
NASA WELCOMES SPACE SHUTTLE CREW BACK TO EARTH
The Space Shuttle Atlantis and its crew are home after a 12-day
journey of more than 4.9 million miles in space. The mission,
STS-115, succeeded in restarting assembly of the International Space
Station. The crew delivered and installed the massive P3/P4 truss, an
integral part of the station's backbone, and two sets of solar arrays
that will eventually provide one quarter of the station's power.
Atlantis' Commander Brent Jett, Pilot Chris Ferguson and mission
specialists Joe Tanner, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Dan Burbank,
and Steve MacLean, a Canadian astronaut, landed Thursday, Sept. 21,
at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., at 6:21 a.m. EDT. After
landing, Jett told Mission Control at NASA's Johnson Space Center,
"Thanks, Houston. It's nice to be back. It was a great team effort,
so I think assembly's off to a good start."
The flight was the first in a series of missions that will be among
the most complex in space history. Atlantis delivered the first major
new component to the station since 2002 and laid the groundwork for
upcoming station assembly missions.
STS-115 is one of the most photographed shuttle missions ever, with
more than 100 high-definition, digital, video and film cameras
documenting the launch and climb to orbit. Data from these images, as
well as station and shuttle crew inspection, helped to clear
Atlantis' thermal protection system for return only two and a half
days after launch.
Tanner, Piper, Burbank and MacLean, with the help of crewmates, made
three spacewalks that completed truss installation, enabled solar
arrays to be deployed and prepared an important radiator for later
activation. They also installed a signal processor and transponder
that transmits voice and data to the ground and performed other tasks
to upgrade and protect the station's systems.
A new procedure called a "camp out" was implemented, in which
astronauts slept in the Quest airlock prior to their spacewalks. The
process shortens the "prebreathe" time during which nitrogen is
purged from the astronauts' systems and air pressure is lowered so
the spacewalkers avoid the condition known as the bends. On each of
the three spacewalks, the astronauts were able to perform more than
the number of scheduled activities.
The astronauts performed unprecedented robotics work. They used the
shuttle's arm in a delicate maneuver to hand off the school bus-sized
truss to the station's arm. The 45-foot truss weighs 35,000 pounds.
The arrays at the end of the truss extended to their full 240-foot
wingspan once they unfurled on flight day six. The astronauts also
moved the station's robotic arm to a position where it will assist in
the next phase of station construction.
After Atlantis undocked from the station, it did the first full fly
around of the facility since prior to the Space Shuttle Columbia
accident. The maneuver helped ground crews get a better perspective
on the station's environment and overall exterior health.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a call during the mission
to astronaut Steve MacLean to congratulate him on being the first
Canadian to operate Canadarm2, the station's Canadian-built robotic
arm.
After undocking, the Atlantis crew participated in a first-ever
three-way call with the Expedition 13 crew aboard the International
Space Station and the three crew members of the Soyuz spacecraft on
its way to the station. All 12 astronauts in space at that time were
able to have a conversation.
With Atlantis and its crew safely home, the stage is set for the next
stage of International Space Station assembly. Preparations continue
for Space Shuttle Discovery's launch, targeted for mid-December, on
the STS-116 mission to deliver an additional truss segment and a
cargo module to the station. Discovery will also do extensive work on
the station's electrical and cooling systems.
For more on the STS-115 mission and the upcoming STS-116 mission,
visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
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#128 by psloss on 21 Sep, 2006 15:45
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Looks like she's close to the towway now.
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#129 by DaveS on 21 Sep, 2006 15:55
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She has left the SLF and is on the way to OPF-1:
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#130 by psloss on 21 Sep, 2006 16:35
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Approaching the OPF bays...
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#131 by psloss on 21 Sep, 2006 16:46
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Atlantis sighting at OPF-1...two months since she backed out...
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#132 by dutch courage on 21 Sep, 2006 16:49
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STS-115 Post landing press conference has started.
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#133 by DaveS on 21 Sep, 2006 17:17
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Atlantis rolling into OPF-1:
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#134 by DaveS on 21 Sep, 2006 17:27
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A view of Atlantis from a camera in OPF-1:
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#135 by psloss on 21 Sep, 2006 19:29
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Probably should do a time-lapse of this, but anyway, some snaps from a couple hours back. There was some re-alignment later and the final shot is more or less current...
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#136 by dutch courage on 21 Sep, 2006 20:04
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DaveS - 21/9/2006 7:10 PM
A view of Atlantis from a camera in OPF-1:
Did you forget to attach this picture?
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#137 by psloss on 21 Sep, 2006 20:13
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dutch courage - 21/9/2006 3:47 PM
No that was about the time of an outage; I was in the middle of a post at the time, too, except mine failed before the message whereas Dave's looks like it failed after the message but before the attachments...QuoteDaveS - 21/9/2006 7:10 PM
A view of Atlantis from a camera in OPF-1:
Did you forget to attach this picture?
...as in the past, there was some realignment (back up, turn, straighten, go forward, repeat) after the orbiter was initially rolled into the bay...
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#138 by Paul Adams on 21 Sep, 2006 20:22
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Apologies if this has already been asked; did the ISS crew take any video or still shots of the re-entry and, if so, have they been posted?
Paul -
#139 by psloss on 21 Sep, 2006 20:27
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Paul Adams - 21/9/2006 4:05 PM
At least video, which was shown at least once shortly after landing (albeit at what looked to me like a low frame rate). Hopefully there is more or perhaps a replay over the next couple of days during the normal daily "ISS hour" on NASA TV.
Apologies if this has already been asked; did the ISS crew take any video or still shots of the re-entry and, if so, have they been posted?
Paul