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Stormy weather may send Endeavour to California for landing today
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NASA mission managers are keeping a close eye on a nasty weather system that may send space shuttle Endeavour and the STS-126 crew to Edwards Air Force Base (EAFB) in California for landing rather than to its home port at Kennedy Space Center (KSC)in Florida. A screen capture of radar, right, shows the storm system moving in on Florida.
Because NASA always likes to keep a contingency day in case of unexpected delays, Entry Flight Director Bryan Lunney said that he will bring Endeavour home today, leaving Monday as the backup landing day. The onboard supply of lithium hydroxide, which scrubs carbon dioxide from crew quarters, will run out on Tuesday.
In a press briefing, Lunney said that he would use either the first two opportunities at KSC, or the third opportunity at EAFB, but not the second opportunity at EAFB. Once the payload bay doors are closed, cooling for the cabin is provided by a system that uses boiling water. If the shuttle goes through three landing options without touching down, the return to Earth would be delayed to Monday in order to conserve water.
NASA outlined the landing opportunities:
Endeavour’s first landing opportunity is at Kennedy Space Center on orbit 248. It would see a deorbit burn at 11:14 a.m. The orbiter’s ground track would take it along the east coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, across the Gulf of Mexico and cross the Florida coast south of Fort Myers. Landing would be at 12:19 p.m. (CST)
A second KSC opportunity is available Sunday. Its deorbit burn would be at 12:50 p.m. and a landing at 1:54 p.m. That track would take Endeavour across Mexico, cross its Gulf Coast near Tampico, then east across Florida to KSC.
KSC weather is questionable. Forecasts say rain, perhaps thunderstorms and crosswinds could prevent a landing there.
There are two Sunday opportunities to land at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The first, on orbit 250, would see a deorbit burn at 2:20 p.m. and a landing at 3:25 p.m.
Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialists Don Pettit, Steve Bowen, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Shane Kimbrough and Greg Chamitoff were awakened at 3:55 a.m. CST to begin the final preparations for landing. Their "home improvement" mission to the International Space Station included four spacewalks and was highly succesful.
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