Space Station User's Guide

Shuttle Processing Note: The crew of Space Shuttle Atlantis safely returned to Earth this morning after a successful mission installing the S1 Truss Segment.

The total distance Space Shuttle Atlantis and the STS-113 traveled was 4.5 million miles. Main gear touchdown occurred at 11:43.40 a.m. EDT with a mission elapsed time (MET) of 10 days, 19 hours, 57 minutes and 49 seconds. Nose gear touchdown occurred at 11:43.48 EDT with an MET of ten days, 19 hours, 57 minutes and 57 seconds. Wheel stop occurred at 11:44.35 EDT with an MET of ten days, 19 hours, 58 minutes and 44 seconds.

The crew and Orbiter were met by the new state-of-the art Convoy Command Vehicle commissioned earlier this year. The new 40-foot vehicle replaced a 15-year-old model, and will be used following Shuttle landings as the prime vehicle to control critical communications between the orbiter, the crew and the Launch Control Center, to monitor the health of the Shuttle Orbiter systems and to direct convoy operations at the Shuttle Landing Facility.

About an hour after touchdown, the STS-112 crew was taken to their KSC quarters to meet with their families and undergo additional physical examinations. A post-mission press conference with select members of the STS-112 crew is scheduled to occur at the KSC News Center at approximately 5:00 p.m. this evening.

Quick look data indicates the Shuttle engines performed normally during the eight minutes of powered flight, as did the Solid Rocket Boosters. The retrieval ships Liberty Star and Freedom Star are in the recovery area in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 140 miles east of Cape Canaveral assessing the status of the two spent booster casings. The ships will return the segments to Hangar AF for post-flight evaluation at Cape Canaveral about noon on Wednesday.