Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook
Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds $26,000 Inside Seller tries to get half the cash back, fails »

Atlantis Lands Safely in Fla.

Landing clears way for military to shoot down satellite

By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff

Posted Feb 20, 2008 8:46 AM CST
Email

(Newser) – Space shuttle Atlantis landed safely at Kennedy Space Center this morning, capping a successful 13-day mission in which it delivered Europe's first permanent lab to the International Space Station after months of delay, reports Space.com. The shuttle's return clears the way for the US Navy to shoot down a dying satellite headed toward Earth, possibly as soon as tonight.

Atlantis touched down just days after NASA rolled its sister ship Endeavor onto the launch pad for a scheduled March 11 launch that will deliver the first piece of a Japanese lab. Atlantis returned astronaut Daniel Tani to Earth after a 120-day stay at the station, during which his mother died. French astronaut Leopold Eyharts stayed behind. 

The space station's robotic Canadarm2 moves the Columbus laboratory from its stowage position in Space Shuttle Atlantis' (STS-122) payload bay to the starboard side of the Harmony module Monday Feb. 2008. Mission managers on Wednesday Feb. 13, 2008 decided to keep the shuttle there an extra day so its seven...
The space station's robotic Canadarm2 moves the Columbus laboratory from its stowage position in Space Shuttle Atlantis' (STS-122) payload bay to the starboard side of the Harmony module Monday Feb. ...   (Associated Press)
This photo released by NASA shows astronaut Daniel M. Tani as he prepares to use the galley on the middeck of Space Shuttle Discovery on Oct. 24, 2007. Rose Tani, the 90-year-old mother of Daniel Tani who is aboard the international space station died in Lombard, Ill. on Wednesday Dec....
This photo released by NASA shows astronaut Daniel M. Tani as he prepares to use the galley on the middeck of Space Shuttle Discovery on Oct. 24, 2007. Rose Tani, the 90-year-old mother of Daniel Tani...   (Associated Press)
In this image made from video and provided by NASA TV, The space shuttle Atlantis and its crew of seven land at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008. The shuttle touched down at 9am today.
In this image made from video and provided by NASA TV, The space shuttle Atlantis and its crew of seven land at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008. The shuttle touched...   (Associated Press)
This image provided by NASA shows the pilot, astronaut Alan Poindexter, and commander, astronaut Steve Frick, for STS-122 Atlantis' crew looking out the starboard window (pilot's side) of their spacecraft while it is docked to the International Space Station Friday Feb. 15, 2008 while two of their crewmates perform a...
This image provided by NASA shows the pilot, astronaut Alan Poindexter, and commander, astronaut Steve Frick, for STS-122 Atlantis' crew looking out the starboard window (pilot's side) of their spacecraft...   (Associated Press)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Be the first to comment on this story.

How the satellite shoot-down will work
Space.com

 
NASA • Navy • space shuttle • Kennedy Space Center • satellite • International Space Station • Cape Canaveral • Daniel Tani • Atlantis Space Shuttle • Columbus laboratory • spy satellite • space shuttle landing

More Newser Stories

Discovery to Fly Over US

Racing Bad Weather, Shuttle Endeavour Lands in Florida

Clouds Delay Last Nighttime Shuttle Launch

Shuttle Atlantis Back Home

Space Shuttle Lifts Off Safely
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne