NATION : Space Shuttle to Return Sunday
NASA said today that the space shuttle Atlantis will return to Earth on Sunday, an announcement that may indicate that the five-member military crew has already deployed a $500-million spy satellite.
In a three-sentence statement that is the first break in a Pentagon-imposed news blackout on the military mission, NASA said the “expected landing day” for Atlantis is Sunday. No landing times were provided.
The mission is expected to last 4 1/2 days, ending with a landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
“The (Atlantis) crew is doing well, and orbiter Atlantis continues to perform satisfactorily,” the terse Mission Control announcement concluded.
The cargo carried into orbit by Atlantis reportedly is a 37,300-pound satellite capable of taking super-sharp photographs and listening in on electronic communications around the world.
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