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STS-129 MCC Status Report #22

HOUSTON – The crew of space shuttle Atlantis has begun what is scheduled to be the STS-129 mission’s landing day.
Atlantis will be bringing home Expedition 20 and 21 Flight Engineer Nicole Stott, who spent 87 days on the International Space Station. Her return brings to an end nearly a decade of space shuttle use to rotate crew on the International Space Station.
The seven shuttle crew members, Commander Charles Hobaugh, Pilot Barry Wilmore and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Randy Bresnik, Mike Foreman, Robert Satcher Jr. and Stott, were awakened this morning at 12:28 a.m. with the song “Home Sweet Home” by Motley Crue. The selection was played for the crew.
With the weather in Florida looking perfect for a landing, Atlantis’ first opportunity is at Kennedy Space Center on orbit 171. It would see a deorbit burn at 7:36 a.m. The orbiter’s ground track would take it along the east coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, across the Gulf of Mexico and cross the Florida coast south of Fort Myers. Landing would be at 8:44 a.m.
Atlantis is winding up a mission that included three spacewalks and more than six days at the International Space Station. The orbiter took 14 tons of cargo in its payload bay, including two large carriers with spare parts to sustain station operations after the shuttles are retired next year, to the orbiting laboratory.
The next shuttle status report will be issued after landing, at the end of the crew day, or earlier if events warrant.

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2 a.m. CST Friday, Nov. 27, 2009
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas