Space Shuttle landing this morning at Edwards anticipate twin sonic booms

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Space Shuttle landing this morning at Edwards anticipate twin sonic booms

Update: 0840hrs - Hubble update mission - Space shuttle Atlantis lands safely at Edwards Air Force Base.

The orbiter unleashed a thundering double sonic boom over the floor of the Mojave Desert as it streaked over Southern California on its approach to Edwards

Altman and pilot Greg C. Johnson began the hour-long glide back to Earth by firing Atlantis' twin braking rockets to leave orbit, shedding 257 feet per second (78 meters per second) to align the ship for a fiery freefall through the atmosphere.

Initially appearing from the ground as a pinpoint high over the northeastern horizon, the craft descended silently to the base's main landing strip, touching down with a puff of white-grey smoke as the rear wheels made contact with the runway surface.

The Atlantis crew returned with two Hubble instruments earmarked for the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum -- the telescope's wide-field camera, which took the first deep field image of a tiny sliver of sky to reveal a cornucopia of ancient objects and a package of corrective lenses that refocused light warped by Hubble's flawed prime mirror.

NASA has eight shuttle missions remaining before it retires the fleet at the end of next year. Its next flight is slated for launch in less than three weeks.

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Space Shuttle Atlantis landing this morning at Edwards Air Force Base.
Southern California residents should anticipate twin sonic booms just prior to 8:39 PDT

Photo: Reuters
Some info: Yahoo News - Link

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Sunday, May 24, 2009