11/27/09: STS-129: Space Shuttle Atlantis lands at Kennedy Space Center.
Mission Control Center Status Report #23
10 a.m. CST Friday, Nov. 27, 2009 , Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

Mission: STS-129

Orbiter: Atlantis

Launch Pad: 39A

Launch Date: NET Nov 16, 2009, 14:28:09 EST (19:28:09 UT)

Landing: Nov 27, 2009

Main gear touchdown: 09:44:23 EST

Nose gear touchdown: 09:44:36 EST

Wheels stop: 09:45:05 EST

Orbital Altitude: 122 nautical miles (140 miles)

Orbital Insertion: 191 nautical miles (220 miles)

Orbital Inclination: 51.6 degrees

Distance traveled: ~4.5 million miles

Crew:- Commander: Charles O. Hobaugh; Pilot: Barry E. Wilmore; Mission Specialists:- MS1 Leland D Melvin, MS2 Randolph Bresnik, MS3 Michael Foreman, MS4 Robert Satcher, MS5 (landing) Nicole Stott.
Primary Payload: ExPRESS (Expedite the Processing of Experiments to the Space Station) Logistics Carriers ELC1 and ELC2:-

ExPRESS Logistics Carrier-1 manifest:- Ammonia Tank Assembly; Battery Charge Discharge Unit; Space Station Remote Manipulator System Latching End Effector; Control Moment Gyro; Nitrogen Tank Assembly; Pump Module; Plasma Contactor Unit; two empty Passive Flight Releasable Attachment Mechanisms.

ExPRESS Logistics Carrier-2 manifest:- High Pressure Gas Tank; Cargo Transport Container 1 (CTC-1) mounted to a Small Adapter Plate Assembly; Mobile Transporter/Trailing Umbilical System; Control Moment Gyro; Nitrogen Tank Assembly; Pump Module; Utility Transfer Assembly (UTA) Flight Support Equipment (FSE); one empty Payload Passive Flight Releasable Attachment Mechanism.

Space shuttle Atlantis and its seven-member crew landed Friday morning at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, winding up a successful 11-day flight to deliver heavy spare parts, other equipment and supplies to the International Space Station.

Atlantis’ main landing gear wheels touched down at 8:44:23 a.m., followed by the nose wheel at 8:44:36 a.m. The shuttle’s wheels stopped at 8:45:05 a.m. The mission duration was 10 days, 19 hours, 16 minutes, 13 seconds. Atlantis traveled 4,490,138 statute miles over 171 orbits.

Commander Charles Hobaugh, Pilot Barry Wilmore and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Randy Bresnik, Mike Foreman, Robert Satcher Jr. and Nicole Stott had near-perfect weather for their landing.

Stott is returning to Earth after 91 days in space. She spent 87 days aboard the station, 80 of them as a member of the Expedition 20 and 21 crews.

Atlantis brought to the station about 14 tons of cargo in its payload bay, including two large carriers with heavy spare parts that were stored on the station. The shuttle also carried about a ton of cargo in its crew cabin. It is bringing home about the same weight of cabin cargo from the orbiting laboratory.

The astronauts are scheduled to return to Houston base for a Monday “crew return” welcome at Ellington Field’s Hangar 990 about 4 p.m. The public is invited.



Nov 27: Space shuttle Atlantis touches down on landing Runway 33 of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, concluding 11 days in space and completing the 4.5-million mile STS-129 mission. Onboard are NASA astronauts Charles O. Hobaugh, commander; Barry E. Wilmore, pilot; Mike Foreman, Leland Melvin, Robert L. Satcher Jr., Randy Bresnik and Nicole Stott, all mission specialists. Main gear touchdown was at 9:44:23 a.m. (EST) on Nov. 27, 2009. Nose gear touchdown was at 9:44:36 a.m., and wheels stop was at 9:45:05 a.m. STS-129 is the final space shuttle Expedition crew rotation flight on the manifest. The crew delivered 14 tons of cargo to the International Space Station, including two ExPRESS Logistics Carriers containing spare parts to sustain station operations after the shuttles are retired next year. Credit: NASA

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