Space Shuttle Atlantis Landing Live Thread (05/24/09 10:09 AM)

05/22/09 | Kevin Davis

[NautiNurse]

WELCOME HOME ATLANTIS!!!

[Larry Lucido]

Please remain in your seats while the pilot taxis to the gate.

[tiredoflaundry]

Awesome landing!! Welcome Home Atlantis!!!

[djf]

I can’t wait to see the pics when they get Hubble fully operational again. They might be orders of magnitude better than what we’ve got so far, which is spectacular in their own right!

[Red_Devil 232]

Yep! The weekly Astronomy thread will have some good pics!

[WSGilcrest]

They’re gonna be great!

[NautiNurse]

You know you watch too much NASATV when you use the terms “nominal” and “I concur”.

Roger that, Houston.

[VaRepublican]

I'm sure it has been mentioned but cnn did not even cover.Good lord, I cannot express enough how much I disa gree with the left. Nice job Atlantis, welcome home!!!!!

[Larry Lucido]

Looks like they used up pretty much the whole runway.

[VaRepublican]

I have watched as much NASA tv as I could, what they have done this past week is awe inspiring.

[SE Mom]

WONDERFUL!!!!!!

Whew :)

[NautiNurse]

ROFLMAO! Look at this Reuters headline:

[Larry Lucido]

What are the guys on the ground checking for?

[Larry Lucido]

Never mind, just found this:

More important are the post-landing procedures and checks. The ground equipment cooling lines have to be connected to the shuttle, so the electronics can be cooled again. Also, technicians have to make sure that no RCS, OMS or APU propellant is leaking out, because all three substances used (MMH, N2O4 and Hydrazine) are toxic and cause dangerous fumes.

[djf]

A few short weeks from now, we will have the 40th anniversary of one of the greatest accomplishments of the American Space program.

I remember a long haired pimply faced kid watching the launch on a grainy black and white tv, and a few days later, those words that will be famous for the rest of man's existence. That pimply kid was me.

That's one small step...

A GENERATION OF AMERICANS HAS COME AND GONE AND WE HAVE NOT RETURNED!

It's EMBARRASSING!!!

[OBXWanderer]

You know you watch too much NASATV when you use the terms “nominal” and “I concur”.

I concur that NASA TV has a nominal number of Viagra, Cialis, Levetra commercials.

None

[NELSON111]

They haven't decided when to land yet. It doesn't take long for it to get from New Orleans to Cape Canaveral but it hits the atmosphere right over New Orleans. Of course, it's most spectacular at night. It fills the whole sky!

Little correction to your statement. Atmospheric interface occurs well west of NOLA when landing at KSC, somewhere over the Pacific. People in Cali can see the plasma tail...and I've seen it a couple of times here in Texas. It is spectacular. One long thin trail from west to east.

[SE Mom]

Dewey beats Truman!!!

[NautiNurse]

I wonder whether The Guardian can get a refund or credit from Reuters for the feed of bad info.

[NautiNurse]

Hmmmm—both Reuters and AP have the same feed? What is this? The Guardian story has AP as the source.