Space Shuttle Atlantis Lands Photos

Posted on November 27, 2009

Space shuttle Atlantis and the seven astronauts aboard landed back on Earth with a nice smooth touchdown. Read more on the Atlantis crews’ work on their 11 day flight below.

Space Shuttle Atlantis landed at the right time under great conditions, no clouds and the temperature in the mid-fifties.

“Couldn’t have picked a clearer day,” commander Charles Hobaugh said. Mission Control congratulated him on a “picture perfect” landing.

The homecoming was especially major to two of the Atlantis crew.

Astronaut Nicole Stott had been away for three months, living at the space station. And fellow crew member Randolph Bresnik’s had welcomed a daughter born last weekend.

“Everybody, welcome back to Earth, especially you, Nicole,” Mission Control radioed.

Bresnik had even bigger plans: to hold his infant daughter for the first time.

Abigail Mae Bresnik was born Saturday night, right after her father took his first spacewalk.Â Bresnik will get to see his family on Saturday as his wife Rebecca remained at home with her newborn daughter and her older brother Wyatt, 3.

Atlantis brought back broken equipment from the space station’s water-recycling system and l0gged 4.5 million miles and circled Earth 171 times.

Only five shuttle flights remain which head to the space station next year. That will end the construction to the International Space Station. Atlantis delivered almost 15 tons of gear which leaves the space station 86 percent complete.

NASA’s next shuttle flight is in February. The Endeavour will deliver a full-fledged module to the space station, complete with a cupola for prime Earth gazing with a domed chamber that has seven windows.

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