Hours after undocking from the International Space Station on Tuesday, Atlantis’ seven astronauts finished a final inspection of the space shuttle to make sure its heat shield was ready to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere.
Atlantis is scheduled to land at 12:54 p.m. CDT Thursday after a 13-day mission, although the weather at Kennedy Space Center in Florida looked uncertain.
A camera attached to a robotic arm and boom surveyed the shuttle’s wings and nose cap to make sure the shuttle was undamaged and could withstand the intense heat of re-entering Earth’s atmosphere. That inspection was added to all shuttle missions after the Columbia accident in 2003 killed seven astronauts.
Results of the final inspection of the heat shield won’t be ready until Wednesday, but problems aren’t expected, said flight director Cathy Koerner.
Atlantis wasn’t cleared to leave until computers passed a test to take control of the station’s thrusters Monday.
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Items compiled from Tribune news services.
