Live in orbit: Shuttle Atlantis on its way home

Shuttle Atlantis is plunging through the atmosphere after a critical engine-firing that dropped it out of orbit, propelling the spaceship and its seven astronauts toward a 9:07 a.m. touchdown at Kennedy Space Center.

Flying upside down and with its tail pointed in the direction of travel, mission commander Stephen Frick and pilot Alan Poindexter ignited the shuttle's twin maneuvering engines as the ship crossed high over the Indian Ocean.

The two-minute, 44-second firing enabled the shuttle to slip out of orbit and begin its journey back to the Kennedy Space Center. The shuttle and its crew will have traveled 5.3 million miles by the time the winged spaceship lands on Runway 15 here at NASA's coastal Florida spaceport.

The skies over the runway are clearing. A thin layer of clouds at 10,000 to 11,000 feet has pushed to the south, opening up a clear shot at the north end of the shuttle's three-mile landing strip.

You can watch the action here in The Flame Trench. Simply click the link below the image above to launch our NASA TV viewer and live coverage of the landing.