Shuttle to Land Sunday; Activity Still Blacked Out

NASA announced Wednesday that the shuttle Columbia will end its flight Sunday in California, but the space agency remained silent about the secret spy satellite expected to be deployed during the military mission.

The shuttle whirled around Earth on the second day of its flight, but the astronauts’ activities were known only to ground controllers. Public broadcasts about the classified Defense Department mission were rare.

NASA broke its silence briefly Wednesday to say that Columbia was scheduled to land Sunday at Edwards Air Force Base between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. PDT.

“The crew is doing well, and the Columbia continues to perform satisfactorily,” National Aeronautics and Space Administration commentator Kyle Herring added. The news blackout then resumed.

24-Hour Notice

Unless a problem occurs aboard the orbiter, no more announcements are expected until a landing time is given 24 hours in advance.

Columbia, the oldest vehicle in the shuttle fleet, thundered into orbit Tuesday morning on its first flight in more than 3 1/2 years. Mission control reported about two hours after liftoff that the crew was ready for orbit operations, indicating that the shuttle’s payload bay doors were open and preparations to deploy the satellite had begun.

But there would be no official word about the secret payload, which sources said is a reconnaissance satellite designed to take highly detailed photographs of troop and ship movements, military installations and other targets of interest over a wide area.