Shuttle Cleared To Land Today
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA Mission Control cleared space shuttle Discovery for re-entry Sunday in anticipation of a breakfast-time landing today at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center.
Discovery, with Commander Steven Lindsey at the controls and five other crew members aboard, was scheduled to touch down at the Kennedy Center Landing Facility at 9:14 a.m. Eastern time, dropping from an altitude of 175 miles in a little over an hour.
Mission planners said, however, that the possibility of rain showers within 30 miles of the landing strip could force a wave-off. Re-entry Flight Director Steve Stich said Discovery would try once more on the next orbit.
But if bad weather persisted, Mr. Stich said Discovery will stand down and try twice more Tuesday morning. Only after two more wave-offs would he order a landing at the backup site at Edwards Air Force Base in California, he said.
