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Atlantis home after a very successful Mission: Full Story
Welcome Home, Atlantis!
MET 12/16:50 03:49am EDT
1 hour to the Deorbit Burn. This Burn will be a Firing of both OMS-Engines with a duration of 3 Minutes and 16 Seconds. This will change Atlantis' velocity by 331 feet per second, just enough for the Orbiter to drop out of Orbit.
All Systems are in perfect condition. 4 good primary GPCs and a good Backup Flight System.
The Crew is in the process of donning their Launch&Entry Suits. They will ingress their seats and strap themselves in. Fluid Loading is starting right now as well. The IMUs will be aligned one more time as well.
Weather will be no issue at all. Conditions couldn't better to finish the Space Shuttle Program on time.
Running Updates from now until post wheel stop will only come via real time tweets. Be sure to follow @STS_135!
1 hour to the Deorbit Burn. This Burn will be a Firing of both OMS-Engines with a duration of 3 Minutes and 16 Seconds. This will change Atlantis' velocity by 331 feet per second, just enough for the Orbiter to drop out of Orbit.
All Systems are in perfect condition. 4 good primary GPCs and a good Backup Flight System.
The Crew is in the process of donning their Launch&Entry Suits. They will ingress their seats and strap themselves in. Fluid Loading is starting right now as well. The IMUs will be aligned one more time as well.
Weather will be no issue at all. Conditions couldn't better to finish the Space Shuttle Program on time.
Running Updates from now until post wheel stop will only come via real time tweets. Be sure to follow @STS_135!
MET 12/15:20 02:49am EDT
Entry Preparations are going very well aboard Atlantis. The Flash Evaporator System was activated prior to Payload Bay Door Closure. The Doors were closed in the auto mode without any issues. Commander Ferguson and Pilot Hurley loaded the OPS3 software package into the onboard computers and transitioned to the Entry Mode.
Their next steps will be the configuration of the Flight Deck for Entry Operations. Once again, they will verify that all switches are in the correct positions.
Crew Suit Up should begin at 03:24am EDT.
Entry Preparations are going very well aboard Atlantis. The Flash Evaporator System was activated prior to Payload Bay Door Closure. The Doors were closed in the auto mode without any issues. Commander Ferguson and Pilot Hurley loaded the OPS3 software package into the onboard computers and transitioned to the Entry Mode.
Their next steps will be the configuration of the Flight Deck for Entry Operations. Once again, they will verify that all switches are in the correct positions.
Crew Suit Up should begin at 03:24am EDT.
MET 12/14:20 01:49am EDT
The Deorbit Timeline began on time at 12:49am EDT. The Team wokred through initial setup procedures to reconfigure the Data Processing System and the General Purpose Computers. They also prepared the hydraulic system and the APUs for the Deorbit Burn and Re-Entry.
Sandy Magnus deactivated the Shuttle's Galley as a get ahead. Normally, Galley Deact is performed 30 Minutes prior to D/O.
The next step for the crew was the entry switchlist. They configured all switches on the Middeck and Flight Deck for the remaining Deorbit Preparations. Those switch-positions were verified by Mission Control as well.
The orbiter will change its orientation to a Comm Attitude shortly.
The next major Milestone will be Payload Bay Door Closure at 2:09am EDT.
The Deorbit Timeline began on time at 12:49am EDT. The Team wokred through initial setup procedures to reconfigure the Data Processing System and the General Purpose Computers. They also prepared the hydraulic system and the APUs for the Deorbit Burn and Re-Entry.
Sandy Magnus deactivated the Shuttle's Galley as a get ahead. Normally, Galley Deact is performed 30 Minutes prior to D/O.
The next step for the crew was the entry switchlist. They configured all switches on the Middeck and Flight Deck for the remaining Deorbit Preparations. Those switch-positions were verified by Mission Control as well.
The orbiter will change its orientation to a Comm Attitude shortly.
The next major Milestone will be Payload Bay Door Closure at 2:09am EDT.
Sun Data for KSC 200
Astronomical twilight: 05:07 -18.0° 53°
Nautical twilight: 05:40 -12.0° 58°
Civil twilight: 06:11 -6.0° 63°
Sunrise: 06:38 -0.8° 66°
Nautical twilight: 05:40 -12.0° 58°
Civil twilight: 06:11 -6.0° 63°
Sunrise: 06:38 -0.8° 66°
MET 12/12:19 11:48pm EDT
The crew has begun final preparations that will lead to the start of the Deorbit Timeline at 12:49am EDT.
Rex Walheim deactivated the final Middeck Science Payloads and will be stowing laptops that will no longer be needed for the mission. The Commander and the Pilot are powering Up the Group B of computers that will be active all the way down to Runway 15 of the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. Ferguson will align the Orbiter's Inertial Measurement Units and verify good alignment. Sandy Magnus has been working the Middeck as well. She will configure the final Systems on the Middeck before the D/O TL begins.
The crew has begun final preparations that will lead to the start of the Deorbit Timeline at 12:49am EDT.
Rex Walheim deactivated the final Middeck Science Payloads and will be stowing laptops that will no longer be needed for the mission. The Commander and the Pilot are powering Up the Group B of computers that will be active all the way down to Runway 15 of the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. Ferguson will align the Orbiter's Inertial Measurement Units and verify good alignment. Sandy Magnus has been working the Middeck as well. She will configure the final Systems on the Middeck before the D/O TL begins.
MET 12/10:00 09:29pm EDT
The STS-135 Crew is awake for their Deorbit and Entry Day.
Today's wake up song was 'God Bless America' by Kate Smith for the entire crew and all Shuttle Workers.
All crewmembers will have about 2 hours of post-sleep time before getting ready to head home.
The STS-135 Crew is awake for their Deorbit and Entry Day.
Today's wake up song was 'God Bless America' by Kate Smith for the entire crew and all Shuttle Workers.
All crewmembers will have about 2 hours of post-sleep time before getting ready to head home.
MET 12/09:40 09:09pm EDT
Weather Forecast Models have not changed for today's landing. Meteorologists are still predicting great conditions at the runway this morning. Satellite Images are looking very clean without any major systems. Radar Data als shows that there are no showers or thunderstorms within 60 miles to the SLF at this time.
The Flight Crew will wake up at 09:29pm EDT
Weather Forecast Models have not changed for today's landing. Meteorologists are still predicting great conditions at the runway this morning. Satellite Images are looking very clean without any major systems. Radar Data als shows that there are no showers or thunderstorms within 60 miles to the SLF at this time.
The Flight Crew will wake up at 09:29pm EDT
| Weather: | --- |
| Temperature: | 72°F |
| Clouds: | FEW050 SCT250 |
| Winds | |
| Direction: | 240 |
| Speed: | 4 Peak 6 Kts |
| Visibility: | 7mi |
| Lightning Probability: | 00% |
| Precipitiation Probability: | 10% |
| Flight Rule Violations: | NONE |
