Shuttle Landing

shuttle mission came to a successful end when the space shuttle Colombia returned to Earth following a two-day test flight. On Friday, July 31, 2009, the crew of mission STS-127 is set to touch down at Florida's Kennedy Space Center on board the space shuttle Endeavour. Its safe return would mark the 125th time NASA has successfully completed a shuttle mission. Putting a damper on the celebrations, however, is the forecast.

Bad weather plagued the shuttle's launch, and if the storm clouds remain, as the forecast predicts, there's a chance it may also delay the shuttle's return. Because the space shuttle glides back to Earth during its descent, NASA has strict criteria in place to dictate when and where it can land. Conditions that can hinder the shuttle's return include cloud cover, wind velocity, turbulence, precipitation, lightning and thunderstorms near the landing site.

The Kennedy Space Center is NASA's preferred location for a shuttle landing, since it has the staff and equipment to handle the landing and is only a tow-ride away from the shuttle's storage facility. NASA can keep the shuttle in orbit, supplies permitting, if the bad weather in Florida persists, but by Saturday it may have to look at diverting the landing to another location. In this case, the shuttle will most likely touch down at Edwards Air Force Base in California.