"Tuesday, February 22, 2000 - 5:30 p.m. CST The six astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour glided to a smooth landing at the Kennedy Space Center at sunset today, wrapping up their 11-day radar mapping mission, the first human space flight of the 21st century.

With Commander Kevin Kregel at the controls, Endeavour touched down at 5:22 p.m Central time on Runway 33 at the three mile long Shuttle Landing Facility to complete a mission spanning almost 4.7 million statute miles. Pilot Dom Gorie, Flight Engineer Janet Kavandi and Mission Specialist Janice Voss joined Kregel on the flight deck for entry and landing. Mission Specialist Mamoru Mohri from NASDA, the Japanese space agency, and European Space Agency astronaut Gerhard Thiele were seated down in the middeck. The end of the STS-99 mission marked the 21st consecutive landing at the Florida spaceport."

"1523 GMT (10:23 a.m. EST)

To summarize the situation this morning, the 197-foot long accordion-like radar mast was reeled into its 9-foot long canister about two hours ago following the completion of mapping operations. However, the mast did not retract fully, stopping an inch or two short. The canister's lid failed to close and latch as a result. Two further attempt to power the mast inside its can have been unsuccessful. NASA has said it needs two of the three latches to be locked to keep the mast in place for Endeavour to return to Earth. Mission Control is discussing its options, which does include jettisoning the mast and canister into space. "

"New Zealand's South Island is crossed from Karamea Bight in the North-West down to the Kaikoura Peninsula in the South-East. Along this short 175 km length covers a huge range of geological, climatic, and vegetation changes. The swath runs across the northern part of the South Island over country with very few roads and even less people, except near the coastal areas. The Image of the Day shows a 30x30 km (19x19 miles) area around Karamea Bight with a resolution of 25 meters (~80 ft). The colour coded elevation model is overlaid with the corresponding RADAR image to simultaniously present elevation and coverage information. "

"NASA has secured February 11 as space shuttle Endeavour's new launch date after a scheduling conflict with an unrelated rocket test at Cape Canaveral was resolved, NASA officials confirmed late Wednesday."

"While workers make plans to replace a faulty avionics box aboard shuttle Endeavour, NASA officials are jockeying to secure a new launch date for the Earth radar mapping mission."

"NASA has decided to make a run at launching shuttle Endeavour on Monday. Senior program managers - without finding paperwork to show for certain that there are no suspect parts in a turopump on Endeavour's engines - have decided to press ahead. "

"NASA Test Director Doug Lyons describes and engine problem on the last shuttle flight that could force the space agency to postpone Endeavour's planned January 31 lift off. Source video: NASA TV (338k, 2min 11sec QuickTime file). "

"A potentially catastrophic engine problem encountered during the last space shuttle launch could force NASA officials to postpone Monday's planned liftoff of Endeavour. "

"NASA officials Tuesday cleared shuttle Endeavour for launch Jan. 31, so long as some extra tile work can be finished in time. "

"People worldwide will be able to use the Internet to interact live with scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, about the upcoming Shuttle Radar Topography Mission.

Scheduled for a Jan. 31 launch on Space Shuttle Endeavour, STS-99, the radar topography mission is designed to map up to 80 percent of the Earth's landmass during the 11-day mission. The area to be mapped is home to about 95% of the world's population. The three Shuttle Radar Topography Mission webcasts and webchats are scheduled for Jan. 21, Feb. 9 and Feb. 28, at 10 a.m. PST (1 p.m. Eastern time).

"During three special Internet opportunities, audiences will be given the chance to interact live with JPL scientists, engineers, technicians and administrators from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission project, before, during and after the mission." said Linda Conrad of the NASA Quest Project, NASA Ames Research Center, Silicon Valley, CA."