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<title>STS 127 Landing Updates</title>
<link>http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle</link>
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<title><![CDATA[Landing Coverage Concludes]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[With Endeavour in the capable hands of Kennedy technicians and the astronauts on their way to see their families, we will conclude today&#8217;s coverage of the landing of STS-127. You can continue following developments at NASA on the agency Web site. Thanks for joining us!]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:41:59 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Astronauts Leave SLF]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[With the walkaround finished, the crew of Endeavour has climbed back inside the same Astrovan that too them to the launch pad more than two weeks ago. This time, the van will carry back to the Astronaut Crew Quarters here at Kennedy where their families are waiting for them.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:39:22 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA["A Wonderful Day"]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[&#8220;What can I say but what a wonderful day to be here at Kennedy Space Center,&#8221; said STS-127 Commander Mark &#8220;Roman&#8221; Polansky. &#8220;We&#8217;re thrilled to be part of a team that can accomplish a mission like this.&#8221; He thanked all the organizations and controllers involved in the mission, including Kennedy, Mission Control and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA, that built the &#8220;Kibo&#8221; space laboratory.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:37:09 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Crew Begins Walkaround]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[STS-127 Commander Mark Polansky led his crew out of the Crew Transport Vehicle where they met a waiting NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Kennedy Director Bob Cabana and other officials. They are walking underneath Endeavour now and taking a quick survey of the heat shield.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:22:11 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[ASP Working Inside Endeavour]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[While the crew of STS-127 has left Endeavour and is inside NASA&#8217;s crew transport vehicle on the shuttle runway, another astronaut has taken a seat inside the shuttle to help with the technical aspects of turning off shuttle systems and getting everything ready to move the shuttle to its hangar. Astronaut Ken Ham, who flew on STS-124, is one of the astronaut support personnel, or ASPs, at Kennedy. In addition to their post-landing work, ASPs ready the cockpit for launches and help astronauts strap in before a flight.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:58:22 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Polansky Departing Endeavour]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[STS-127 Commander Mark Polansky is climbing out of the commander&#8217;s seat and will be the last astronaut off the shuttle. &#8220;I thank everybody for a fantastic mission,&#8221; he said before turning over the closeout operations to a technician.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:39:56 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Post-Landing Ops Under Way]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[A large team of specialists is working methodically through their procedures as Endeavour sits on the runway. A &#8220;people mover&#8221; is stationed by Endeavour&#8217;s hatch and the astronauts will go inside that after crawling out of the shuttle. Inside, the crew is setting switches and controls to turn off some systems and position others so the shuttle can be safely moved later today to its hangar. Other trucks are positioned at the shuttle&#8217;s nose and tail to drain away hazardous chemicals that may still be inside systems such as the thrusters. Later, the astronauts are expected to walk around Endeavour.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:36:52 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Official Landing Times]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[We have a few official times to pass along: Endeavour&#8217;s main wheels touched down at 10:48:08 a.m. EDT and the nose gear followed at 10:48:21 a.m. Wheelstop came at 10:49:13 a.m. Endeavour landed on its 248th orbit, and completed more than 6.5 million miles during its 16 days in space.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:25:43 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Convoy Rolling]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[The ground support convoy is moving onto the runway to retrieve the crew and begin the lengthy process of getting the shuttle ready to be towed back to its Orbiter Processing Facility, the hangar where workers ready the shuttles for flight.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:54:18 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Touchdown!]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Endeavour has landed!]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:49:00 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Flare and Gear Down]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Polansky pitches the nose of Endeavour up to slow Endeavour for touchdown on the runway. Landing gear down and locked.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:47:59 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Endeavour Gliding Over Kennedy!]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[The shuttle has just flown overhead here at Kennedy and Polansky is making his final line up to the runway.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:45:01 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Five Minutes]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Endeavour continues on its prescribed landing path toward Kennedy. Polansky will guide the shuttle along the heading alignment cylinder in about two minutes.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:43:52 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Endeavour at Mach 2.5]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[The shuttle has slowed to Mach 2.5. Six minutes to landing.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:42:12 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[10 Minutes to Landing]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Endeavour will glide over Cuba before heading up Florida's Atlantic coast on its way to Kennedy. Landing is still on schedule for 10:48 a.m. Shuttle is 443,000 feet above Earth.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:38:22 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Roll Reversal]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Moving at 11,000 mph and slowing, Endeavour is turning to the right now to conclude a sweeping S-turn that helps the shuttle dissipate speed and energy. 450 miles to go.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:36:37 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Peak Heating]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Endeavour is now in the area of maximum heating. It will last another six minutes or so as the shuttle slows tremendously from its orbital speed of Mach 25. Polansky and Hurley work carefully to make sure they keep up the shuttle's energy to glide all the way back to Florida and land safely. All systems are working as they should.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:29:27 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[First Roll]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Steering through the thickening atmosphere, Polansky and the seven crew members are watching the plasma form around the spacecraft as the heat shield insulates the craft from the effects.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:25:28 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Support Convoy Moving Into Position]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[A long string of specialized trucks is lining up just off the runway here. They will move into place after Endeavour comes to a stop and the area around it has been deemed safe. Some of the trucks vent hazardous chemicals out of the orbiter's systems, while others tend to the crew and time-sensitive experiments and equipment. New NASA Administrator Charles Bolden is scheduled to be in the convoy commander's vehicle as it rolls out to meet Endeavour.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:21:34 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Entry Interface]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Endeavour is starting to encounter the upper levels of the atmosphere. It is about 5,000 miles from Kennedy. Polansky will steer the shuttle into a sweeping left turn in about five minutes to help slow the spacecraft, sort of like a skier using the edges to bite into a snowy slope.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:16:44 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Less than an Hour Before Landing]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Endeavour's return to Earth is about 50 minutes away, scheduled for 10:48 a.m.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:56:07 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Teams Watch for Birds]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[The Shuttle Landing Facility, like all the KSC facilities, is in a wildlife refuge. So occasionally a team goes out and fires blanks into the air to scare away groups of birds that mingle around the runway. The shots, along with the engines of the Shuttle Training Aircraft, define the sounds out here on landing day.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:53:44 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Burn Complete, Endeavour on Target]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[The orbital maneuvering system has done its job and Endeavour has taken a critical step to land at 10:48 a.m. at Kennedy today.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:46:12 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Engines Burning for Deorbit]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[The two orbital maneuvering system thrusters at the back of Endeavour are firing now to slow the spacecraft. They will slow Endeavour's Mach 25 velocity. Then Endeavour, which is flying backward with its payload bay facing Earth, will flip over so its nose is pointing forward and the heat shield will be facing the atmosphere.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:44:37 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Deorbit Burn at 9:42 a.m.]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Polansky will maneuver Endeavour so it is facing backward in relation to the Earth. He will fire the twin orbital maneuvering system engines for a couple minutes, just enough to slow the shuttle's 17,500 mph speed so gravity can take hold and pull it into the atmosphere.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:32:12 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA["Go" for Deorbit Burn]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Mission Control cleared Endeavour to land at the 10:48 a.m. opportunity at Kennedy, the first of today. "You are a steely eyed hero," Polansky radioed back to Houston when told of the "go."]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:28:32 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Crew Strapped In]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[The seven astronauts on Endeavour are not all keeping the same seats they had for launch. As commander and pilot, Polansky and Doug Hurley remain in the front seats of the flight deck. Each has identical controls and a stick and both can fly Endeavour's landing profile from their seats. Julie Payette keeps her station as flight engineer, sitting behind and between Polansky and Hurley as she did for launch. Tom Marshburn sits behind Hurley on the flight deck for landing, a change from his launch seat. On the lower level, called the middeck, Chris Cassidy sits on the left, closest to the hatch. Japan's Koichi Wakata, who was living on the International Space Station, will sit in a reclined seat between Cassidy and David Wolf, who is on the right side of the middeck.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:17:58 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Endeavour to aim for Runway 15]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Commander Mark Polansky is to steer Endeavour to land from the northwest, on what is known as runway 15 at the Shuttle Landing Facility. The SLF has only one runway, but it is numbered differently depending on which direction the shuttle approaches from. The runway 33 designation uses a glide approach from the south east.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:13:39 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Landing Tracks]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Paste this address into your browser to see the paths Endeavour would take during its two landing opportunities: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts127/news/landing.html]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:59:42 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA["Go" for Fluid Loading]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[The astronauts inside Endeavour have been told to begin drinking fluids in preparation for the return to gravity.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:39:40 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[What to Expect This Morning]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[The decision from Mission Control to "go" for landing sets off a timeline that begins when the shuttle is floating  in space at 17,500 mph and ends with the shuttle sitting still on the runway at Kennedy. Although there are scores of small steps along the way, the major milestones are the deorbit burn, entry interface, peak heating and the long glide before banking the shuttle through a broad turn to line up with the runway. Then there's the touch down of the main gear and nose gear before the landing can be declared a success. We'll highlight these crucial points throughout the morning. The "go/no-go" decision is expected at 9:22 a.m. and the weather here remains acceptable for landing at 10:48 a.m.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:34:25 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[STS-127 a Busy but Successful Mission]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Endeavour's seven astronauts spent more than two weeks in space, and they needed all of it to pull off a challenging array of tasks. They installed the last piece of Japan's "Kibo" space laboratory complex on the International Space Station, performed five spacewalks and used three robotic arms to help in the work along the way. Tim Kopra, who flew into space aboard Endeavour, remains on the station after trading seats with Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, who is returning to Earth today aboard Endeavour.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:21:57 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Lindsey Takes Off to Evaluate Weather]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Chief astronaut Steve Lindsey just took off from the Shuttle Landing Facility in a Shuttle Training Aircraft to study weather conditions along Endeavour's projected landing path. The STA, as it is known, is a Gulfstream II business jet that has been modified to fly like a gliding shuttle so commanders and pilots can practice landings. Lindsey's experiences this morning will be radioed to Endeavour Commander Mark Polansky so he can know more of what to expect as when he and his crew land.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:07:48 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Welcome to Landing Coverage of Endeavour!]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Good morning from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, where the sun is helping provide us with a bright but humid morning. We are at the Shuttle Landing Facility, a 3-mile-long runway built specifically for the space shuttle. Landing time is 10:48 a.m. and we expect the seven astronauts on Endeavour to get an official "go/no-go" decision at 9:22 a.m. for this first landing try. The weather forecast remains acceptable for landing this morning, although meteorologists will watch the conditions carefully throughout the morning. There is also a second opportunity today at 12:22 p.m. here at Kennedy. Enjoy the coverage!]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:00:44 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Weather Forecast "Go" for First Opportunity]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[The current and forecast weather conditions are "go" for that landing try, but meteorologists will continue to monitor the conditions throughout the morning. A final decision on the first landing time will be made at about 9:20 a.m. Right now, Endeavour's payload bay doors are closed and latched. First landing try would put Endeavour on the runway at 10:48 a.m.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:30:14 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Endeavour Gets "Go" to Close Doors]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Mission Control gave STS-127 Commander Mark "Roman" Polansky the go-ahead to close Endeavour's payload bay doors. That is a critical step in the landing procedure, though it doesn't necessarily mean controllers have decided to land at the first opportunity today, which is at 10:48 a.m.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:00:26 GMT</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Join Us at 8 a.m. for Landing!]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Space shuttle Endeavour and its crew of seven astronauts are to return to Kennedy Space Center in Florida today after more than two weeks in space. We will cover the entry and landing from here at the Shuttle Landing Facility starting at 8 a.m. EDT.]]></description>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:50:27 GMT</pubDate>
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