Countdown to deobrbit

Deorbit preparations are scheduled to begin at 7:27 a.m. EDT. The procedure would lead to the closure of the payload bay doors at 8:45 a.m. The first deorbit burn would come at 11:25 a.m., with landing at 12:32 p.m.

Educator/Astronaut Barbara Morgan will sit on the flight deck for the ride home, where she will get a better view of re-entry than in her mid-deck seat during launch.

Endeavour will come in from the northwest to runway 15 at KSC, which is 15,000 feet long and about 300 feet wide. The weather looks favorable today, with slight to little chance of showers. A 10-knot crosswind is expected.

"We're very optimistic about KSC," said the capsule communicator at mission control.

The first landing opportunity today is at Kennedy Space Center, where the orbiter would touch down at 12:32 p.m. The flight path will take the orbiter over the southern tip of central America, across the Gulf toward the Miami area.

Endeavour could remain in orbit until Friday if necessary. The shuttle will not attempt a landing today at Edwards Air Force Base, but if landing conditions prevent landing at KSC today and tomorrow, landing at Edwards would be likely on Wednesday.

Here's a look at the ground track, which is slightly different from missions of the recent path and would bring the spaceship north along the Atlantic coast line into the Shuttle Landing Facility today:



That path should give residents of the Space Coast a treat: the twin sonic booms that herald the orbiter's arrival home will be much louder over southern and central Brevard. They would come just a few minutes before landing.

In the case the weather doesn't work out, here's a list of all of the landing opportunities on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday: Landing Opportunities & Times.