A 747 jumbo jet carrying the space shuttle orbiter Atlantis has touched down at Biggs Army Airfield near the border city of El Paso, Texas. Biggs is the only stop today for the ferry flight that departed this morning from Edwards Air Force Base in California, and is expected to arrive at Kennedy Space Center by Tuesday evening.
Atlantis left Edwards at 11:06 a.m., and completed the roughly 700-mile first leg of its journey a little over two hours later. The trip included a flyover of NASA's White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, N.M. (see below for photos).Clicke here to see video of the takeoff from Edwards.
The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, a modified 747, will refuel before taking off again Tuesday at a time not yet determined.
A series of weather briefings will determine the number and location of additional refueling stops. Biggs was the first stop for Endeavour's ferry flight in December. From there, it proeeeded to Carswell Field near Fort Worth, Texas and Barksdale Air Force Base near Shreveport, La.
If weather allows, pilots could decide to fly over Brevard County beaches before touching down at KSC's three-mile runway. We'll update the plans as they become available.
IMAGE NOTES: Click to enlarge the images. Top, mounted atop its modified 747 carrier aircraft, space shuttle Atlantis took off from Edwards Air Force Base at 11:06 a.m. EDT today for the first leg of its cross country trip to back to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: NASA TV. Above, Atlantis and its carrier aircraft fly by NASA's White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, N.M. Credit: NASA.
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