SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C 331468
Orbiters on the Move: Atlantis Heads Home as Endeavour Prepares for Mission STS-118
Space Shuttle Endeavour rolls to the Vehicle Assembly Building Image above: After leaving the Orbiter Processing Facility Endeavour rolls to the Vehicle Assembly Building. The mission will be Endeavour's first flight in more than four years. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton + View Larger Image http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/170421main_rollover.jpg
07.02.07 12:00 p.m. EDT Orbiter Atlantis is one step closer to Kennedy Space Center this morning after a refueling stop at Fort Campbell, Ky. Mounted atop a modified 747 jetliner called the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, Atlantis is on its way back to Florida after landing June 22 at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., concluding the STS-117 mission.
At Fort Campbell, the ferry flight crew received a weather briefing and a determination was made to remain there overnight. Atlantis could arrive at the Florida spaceport on Tuesday if weather conditions permit.
Meanwhile, processing for the next mission, STS-118, continues at Kennedy. Orbiter Endeavour arrived inside the Vehicle Assembly Building this morning after a short roll from the nearby Orbiter Processing Facility. In the assembly building's transfer aisle, Endeavour will be lifted vertically, transferred to a high bay and attached to its external tank and solid rocket boosters.
The STS-118 mission will deliver the S5 truss to the International Space Station and will mark the first flight of an educator astronaut, Mission Specialist Barbara Morgan. Launch is targeted for Aug. 7.