Atlantis Will Land Today at Edwards, Ending Secret Flight
The space shuttle Atlantis will complete its secret military mission and maiden voyage with a landing today in California, the Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said.
“All systems aboard the space shuttle Atlantis continue to perform satisfactorily,” said a terse announcement from Mission Control on Sunday.
The five-man crew is to land at 10 a.m. on a dry lake bed at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert.
The landing will complete a four-day mission that combined the launch of two $100-million military communications satellites with a shakedown cruise for Atlantis, the newest and last planned member of NASA’s fleet of four space shuttles.
Neither NASA nor the Defense Department would confirm deployment of the military satellites, but reliable sources said the craft were successfully ejected from the shuttle’s cargo bay.
The weather forecast for the landing predicted scattered and broken clouds but with good visibility and wind gusting to 23 m.p.h.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
