Welcome back Atlantis, good luck Frank! May 26, 2009
Posted by sarah in: belgium, science, space , trackback
Welcome back Atlantis
After a fascinating 13-day mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, Space Shuttle Atlantis and its crew touched down safely at Edwards Air Force Base on Sunday 24 May. Welcome home Atlantis! The mission to repair and upgrade Hubble was closely followed by space and astronomy enthusiasts around the world (yup that includes me), thanks to the great coverage on NASA TV.
A welcoming ceremony is taking place today at 4 pm Central Time, watch it live here.
I’m delighted the astronauts got the job done and Hubble is ready for its final stint. Unfortunately I had to miss the landing as I was on a little jaunt around Britain to attend some meetings and catch up with friends and family.
Great also to have Mike Massimino back on live twitter, telling us all about the weirdness of being back on Earth.
Good luck Frank!
Three astronauts will take off from the Baikonur cosmodrome tomorrow for the International Space Station. Representing the European Space Agency is Belgian Frank De Winne, who will also become the first European commander of the ISS during his 6-month stay. Good luck Frank!
Read more about the mission here. Watch a Q&A session with him on ESA’s YouTube channel here.
Image: G. Blevins/LA Daily News
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