Live blog transcript: Shuttle Endeavour landing

Editor's Note: This is a transcript of our live blog of the shuttle landing today, with the latest updates listed first.

11:00
Todd Halvorson: Shuttle Endeavour's mission to complete the Japanese Kibo science research facility at the International Space Station was NASA's 127th shuttle mission, the 29th performed during the assembly of the station, the 23rd flight of Endeavour, the 14th post-Columbia mission and the 71st shuttle landing at Kennedy Space Center. Mission Elapsed Time: 15 days, 16 hours, 46 minutes and 3 seconds.

10:53
Todd Halvorson:
"Welcome home," NASA astronaut Alan Poindexter told the crew from NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston. "Congratulations on a superb mission from beginning to end. Very well done." Said shuttle skipper Mark Polansky: "Well, thanks to you and to the whole team. That's what it's all about, and we're happy to be home."

10:49
Todd Halvorson: Wheels stop.

10:49
Todd Halvorson: Endeavour is rolling out on Runway 15 after a 6.5-million-mile journey

10:48
Todd Halvorson: Touchdown.

10:47
Todd Halvorson: Time to touchdown 30 seconds.

10:47
Todd Halvorson: Time to touchdown one minute.

10:46
Todd Halvorson: The shuttle's final approach to Kennedy Space Center runway is seven times steeper than that of a commercial airliner. Speed now 400 mph. Touchdown in 90 seconds.

10:45
Todd Halvorson: Endeavour's astronauts have the landing strip in sight and are making a brick-like dive toward Runway 15.

10:44
Todd Halvorson: Shuttle Endeavour is plunging through bright blue Florida skies as it approached the Kennedy Space Center area. Trademark twin sonic booms just blared here at Kennedy Space Center. Three minutes 30 seconds to landing

10:42
Todd Halvorson: Shuttle Endeavour is now at an altitude of 8000 feet flying at 1600 miles per hour and is now seen by long-range tracking cameras at Kennedy Space Center. Five minutes 40 seconds to touchdown.

10:40
Todd Halvorson: Endeavour is expected to touchdown at 10:48 a.m. at a speed of 225 miles per hour. The shuttle is crossing southeast of Lake Okeechobee on its way toward the Kennedy Space Center area. Time to touchdown: 8 minutes.

10:38
Todd Halvorson: Endeavour is about to make landfall over the southern tip of the Florida peninsula. The ship is now within range of the Merritt Island tracking station. Time to touchdown: 10 minutes.

10:34
Todd Halvorson: The Endeavour astronauts are crossing over the Gulf of Mexico, heading toward Cuba. Speed: 11,000 miles per hour. Fourteen minutes to touchdown.

10:30
Todd Halvorson: Shuttle Endeavour is flying high over the Pacific Ocean, approaching the west coast of Central America about 18 minutes before a 10:48 a.m. touchdown at Kennedy Space Center. Altitude: 219,000 feet. Speed: 13,500 mph. Range to touchdown: 1400 miles.

10:25
Todd Halvorson: Shuttle Endeavour is flying sweeping S-curves to bleed off speed as the spaceship and its crew head toward a 10:48 a.m. landing at Kennedy Space Center. Speed: 16,000 mph. Altitude: 243,000 feet. Range to touchdown: 2600 miles.

10:19
Todd Halvorson: The Endeavour astronauts now are feeling the first discernable traces of the atmosphere and the first tug of normal gravity since July 15. The shuttle is flying nose-first with its wings at a 45-degree angle-of-attack and temperatures around the orbiter are now soaring to about 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. Altitude: 400,000 feet. Speed: Mach 25. Just under 29 minutes to touchdown at Kennedy Space Center.

10:08
Todd Halvorson: The Endeavour astronauts have powered all three of the shuttle's Auxiliary Power Units -- hydrazine-fueled, turbine-driven motors that provide the hydraulic power needed to operate the spaceship's aerosurfaces during the plunge back through the atmosphere. Now less than 10 minutes from entry interface -- the point where the orbiter reaches the first traces of Earth's atmosphere. Landing on Runway 15 at KSC remains scheduled for 10:48 a.m.

9:57
Todd Halvorson: The Endeavour astronauts just crossed over Australia and are headed out over the South Pacific Ocean as their 5,000-mile plunge back through the atmosphere continues without problems. The astronauts soon will feel the first discernable traces of the atmosphere, and normal gravity, as they continue toward a 10:48 a.m. landing at Kennedy Space Center's Runway 15 -- the northern end of the three-mile landing strip.

9:44
Todd Halvorson: The propulsion officer in NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston reports a good, two-minute, 51-second burn of the shuttle's twin orbital maneuvering engines. The deorbit burn put Endeavour and seven astronauts on course for a 10:48 a.m. landing on Runway 15 at Kennedy Space Center.

9:41
Todd Halvorson: Endeavour's astronauts just fired their spaceship's twin orbital maneuvering engines. With the shuttle flying upside down with its tail facing the direction of travel, the two-minute, 51-second firing is designed to slow the ship by 207 mph -- just enough to send it on a supersonic slide back through the atmosphere. Landing at Kennedy Space Center's Runway 15 -- the northern end of the three-mile strip -- is scheduled for 10:48 a.m.

9:30
Todd Halvorson: The Endeavour astronauts have been given a go for an engine firing that will propel their spaceship on a return to Kennedy Space Center. "Endeavour, Houston. Good news!!" astronaut Alan Poindexter said from Mission Control. "You are go for the deorbit burn." Said shuttle skipper Mark Polansky: "You are a steely-eyed hero. Go for the deorbit burn." The engine firing will take place at 9:42 a.m. Endeavour is scheduled to land at 10:48 a.m.

9:24
Todd Halvorson: The Endeavour astronauts are awaiting word on whether they can proceed with a 9:42 a.m. engine firing that would send the astronauts on their way back to Kennedy Space Center. Mission managers are keeping close tabs on rain showers approaching the KSC area.

8:59
Todd Halvorson: The Endeavour astronauts are donning partial-pressure launch-and-entry suits in advance of a planned return trip to Kennedy Space Center. Thunderstorms south of KSC are staying far enough away not to be a concern. But rain showers are popping up closer to a 30-nautical-mile area around the space center. Rain showers or thunderstorms within that area would force NASA to keep Endeavour up an extra orbit or perhaps an extra day. Landing remains scheduled for 10:48 a.m. and a go/no-go decision on deorbit burn will be coming up within the next 45 minutes.

8:03
Todd Halvorson: NASA Chief Astronaut Steve Lindsey is flying a Shuttle Training Aircraft out around a 30-nautical-mile area surrounding the Kennedy Space Center to gauge weather conditions. Thunderstorms have been spotted 80 to 90 nautical miles south of the space center and mission managers want to make certain they don't encroach on the real estate around KSC. The hope now is that they will dissipate before reaching the area. Landing remains scheduled for 10:48 a.m.

7:45
Todd Halvorson: The Endeavour astronauts are continuing to step through deorbit preparations without significant problems. Shuttle skipper Mark Polansky just loaded critical data into shuttle flight computer software in advance of a twin maneuvering engine ignition at 9:42 a.m. The weather remains favorable for a 10:48 a.m. landing on Runway 15 at Kennedy Space Center.

6:58
Todd Halvorson: The crew of shuttle Endeavour has been given a "go" to close the shuttle's payload bay doors in advance of a planned 10:48 a.m. landing at Kennedy Space Center. Deorbit burn is slated to begin at 9:42 a.m.