by Playfuls Staff |
19th September 2006
An unidentified object found floating near the space shuttle Atlantis on Tuesday may delay its planned landing in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The object was travelling at [more] about the same speed and in the same direction as the shuttle, but NASA officials were unclear what it was.
The Atlantis crew did not stow some of its equipment so it could further examine the object and determine whether it posed a danger to the shuttle.
Heavy winds and rain showers also threatened the planned landing as local weather forecasts on Tuesday called for possible thunderstorms.
Atlantis' six-person crew is set to end its 11-day mission Wednesday. The astronauts installed a pair of solar panels on the International Space Station, ending a nearly four-year long break in construction on the ISS.
"The weather is not as promising as I would like as flight director, with clear skies and no winds," Steve Stich, NASA flight director, said on Tuesday from the agency's Houston, Texas control centre.
NASA has set two possible landing times for Wednesday at 5:59 am (0959 GMT) and 7:34 am (1134 GMT). If the weather cooperates the shuttle will begin its de-orbit burn at 4:57 am (0857 GMT).
If the weather is not clear for landing at either of those times, Atlantis will circle the earth for another day before trying again, Stich said.
Atlantis will then make a series of S-curves and waves to slow itself down.
Atlantis' crew also held a conference call with the ISS crew and the Russian Soyuz early Tuesday. The Soyuz is set to arrive early Wednesday at the ISS with two new crew members and a space tourist.
"It's a little crowded in the sky this morning," Atlantis flight engineer Jeff Williams said.
"We were wondering if we had to hire some more air traffic controllers for the increased traffic up here," added Michael Lopez- Alegria, aboard the Soyuz as commander of ISS mission 14.
© 2006 DPA
