Landing now is schedule for a second and last opportunity at KSC today at 2:54 p.m. The deorbit burn would come at 1:50 p.m.
The astronauts also would have two other opportunities to land today at Edwards Air Force Base in California, the first coming at 4:25 p.m. EST.
"The weather observation and the forecast at KSC are 'no-go' for crosswinds. Right now, we're getting crosswinds of 19 knots, so we're going to wave off this oppoortunity," NASA astronaut Alan Poindexter said from the Mission Control Center in Houston.
"Houston, thanks for the early call on that," Endeavour commander Chris Ferguson said.
The landing had been scheduled for 1:19 p.m. The call came right before the astronauts would have closed the ship's payload bay doors in advance of the landing.
By not closing the doors, flight controllers essentially preserved the opportunity to land on a second opportunity at Edwards Air Force Base early this evening. The landing time in that case would be around 5:55 p.m. EST.
The forecast for the 2:54 p.m. opportunity at KSC is not looking good. NASA flight commentator Kelly Humphries said meteorologists do not expect significant improvement in the crosswinds.
A 2:54 p.m. landing would come on the shuttle's 249th orbit of Earth.
Click to enlarge and save the long-range, mid-range and close-range ground tracks for a landing on that rev:
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