Shuttle to Land Out of Public View

The next space shuttle landing will be closed to public viewing because Atlantis’ military mission is classified.

“This is pretty standard policy on Department of Defense flights,” said Nancy Lovato, a spokeswoman for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration here.

However, NASA and the Air Force may reconsider the policy for subsequent classified shuttle flights, she added.

Atlantis is scheduled to blast off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., between 9:32 a.m. and 12:32 p.m. PST on Dec. 1, although the precise time will not be announced until nine minutes before the launch. Sources have said the launch is set for 10 a.m.

The mission is expected to last three or four days, which would mean Atlantis would land on the hard-packed clay surface of Rogers Dry Lake on Dec. 4 or 5, assuming rain does not turn the lake bed to mud and force a landing at Cape Canaveral or White Sands, N.M. But NASA will not announce the landing time until 24 hours beforehand.

While the mission’s purpose is secret, sources have said Atlantis and its five astronauts will place into orbit a satellite to spy on the Soviet Union.

“Access to Edwards Air Force Base will be restricted to official business only during landing operations,” a NASA statement said. “There will be no guest access, nor will usual NASA tours be held during that period.”

Lovato said that while reporters and photographers will be allowed to cover the landing if they obtain NASA credentials, news briefings customarily held on the day of and after the landing will not be conducted.

The East Shore Viewing Site at Edwards will be open to public viewing when the shuttle Discovery lands there at the end of its flight in late February, Lovato said.