[sarex] STS-114 MCC Status Report #28

["ARTHUR Z. ROWE" <N1ORC@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468

STS-114 MCC Status Report #28
Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2005 – 8:30 a.m. CDT
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

Discovery glided to a pre-dawn landing at Edwards Air Force Base in 
California this morning concluding a journey of 5.8 million miles, 
touching down at 7:11 a.m. CDT.

The landing marked the sixth night landing at Edwards Air Force Base, 
and the 50th time overall that a Shuttle concluded its mission in the 
California desert.

Commander Eileen Collins and Pilot Jim Kelly, assisted by Mission 
Specialist Steve Robinson, began Discovery’s return to earth by firing 
the spacecraft's orbital maneuvering system engines to slow its speed 
and begin its descent. Discovery's ground track took it from the firing 
of the 2 minute, 42-second deorbit burn at 6:06 a.m. over the western 
Indian Ocean, traveling in a loop around Australia, then northeast 
across the Pacific, across the California coast north of Los Angeles and 
then to Edwards.

Persistent thunderstorms at the primary landing site in Florida resulted 
in a wave-off of two opportunities to return to the launch site today.

The STS-114 flight of Discovery with Collins, Kelly, Robinson and 
Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration 
Agency, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda provided 
unprecedented information on the condition of an orbiter in space. 
Noguchi and Robinson did three successful spacewalks at the 
International Space Station and Discovery transported tons of equipment 
and supplies to and from the Station.

 From the Station, Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer 
John Phillips sent their congratulations to Discovery’s crew and the 
flight control team in Houston. Discovery’s crew will have a welcome 
home ceremony at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Houston’s Ellington Field.

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