Green light for Atlantis landing

The space shuttle Atlantis landed back on Earth with its crew of seven astronauts Friday to cap an 11-day mission to the International Space Station.Atlantis commander Charlie Hobaugh and pilot Barry Wilmore touched down as scheduled at 9:44 am (1444 GMT) at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida amid clear blue skies.During their successful voyage, the Atlantis crew delivered nearly 30,000 pounds (13,608 kilograms) of spare parts to the orbiting space station, including a pair of gyroscopes, thermal control system components and robot arm gear.

The shuttle Atlantis returned to Earth Wednesday from the final space flight of its 25-year career, marking the beginning of a bittersweet end for NASA's storied space shuttle program.Shuttle commander Ken Ham touched the spacecraft down at 8:48 am (1248 GMT), completing a flawless landing on the runway at Florida's Kennedy Space Center.As it descended toward Earth, Atlantis glided over the south Pacific, Panama and the western tip of Cuba before reaching Florida and the space center, and was "rock solid on the final approach," center director Robert Cabana said.

Final preparations were underway Friday to launch the space shuttle Atlantis on the last mission of its 25-year career, taking astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).The 32nd and final voyage for Atlantis, first launched in 1985, will take six astronauts to the orbiting space research facility, delivering an integrated cargo carrier and a Russian-built mini research module.Lift-off is scheduled for 2:20 pm (1820 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral in Florida, weather permitting.

Final preparations were underway Friday to launch the space shuttle Atlantis on the last mission of its 25-year career, taking astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).The 32nd and final voyage for Atlantis, first launched in 1985, will take six astronauts to the orbiting space research facility, delivering an integrated cargo carrier and a Russian-built mini research module.Lift-off is scheduled for 2:20 pm (1820 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral in Florida, weather permitting.

The space shuttle Atlantis blasts off Friday on the last mission of its 25-year career, taking astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) one last time before becoming a museum piece.The 32nd and final voyage for Atlantis, which first launched in 1985, will take six astronauts to the orbiting space research facility, delivering an integrated cargo carrier and a Russian-built mini research module.Lift-off is scheduled for 1820 GMT from Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral in Florida, weather-permitting.

NASA gave the green light Wednesday for the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis, officially setting the mission clock on its journey to the International Space Station for May 14 at 2:20 pm (1820 GMT).The decision from top managers at the US space agency came at the end of a flight readiness review at Florida's Kennedy Space Center, NASA said in a statement.Weather permitting, the mission will launch the shuttle on a 12-day trip to the ISS to deliver an integrated cargo carrier and a Russian-built mini research module.

Favorable weather conditions awaited the shuttle Atlantis and its seven-astronaut crew on their expected return to Earth on Friday, after a successful 11-day mission to the International Space Station.The shuttle was expected to touch down at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1444 GMT under mostly sunny skies, the US space agency said Thursday."Atlantis is in great shape," said NASA flight director Bryan Lunney, who will supervise the descent from mission control here. "The crew is in great shape. The weather is looking really good."

The shuttle Atlantis is poised to launch Friday on the final flight of the 30-year American program, a journey that marks the end of an era of US dominance in human space exploration.The liftoff is scheduled for July 8 at 11:26 am (1526 GMT) from Kennedy Space Center in Florida's Cape Canaveral, sending Atlantis on a 12-day mission to the International Space Station.