NASA is preparing the backup landing site at Edwards Air Force Base, California, for the STS-122 mission in case the Atlantis crew needs to land there instead of its normal landing site at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

The earliest possible opportunity to land the shuttle may necessitate using Edwards as a landing site in order to give the military as much time as possible in order to proceed with its mission to intercept and destroy satellite USA 193.

For additional information on satellite USA 193/NROL-21, please read iTWire article "Ailing spy satellite seen by skygazers, Pentagon announces attack plan".

Such backup allows the U.S. Navy the largest window-of-opportunity by which to launch a Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) from a Navy Aegis cruiser in the northern Pacific Ocean, and direct it toward the ailing reconnaissance satellite in an attempt to blow it to smithereens. By blowing the satellite into smaller pieces, it will have much less of a chance of surviving its descent into Earth's atmosphere. 

The U.S. Navy ship contains the Aegis Weapons System, which is an integrated combat system that is one of the most advanced systems currently used in the world. It employs the SM-3 Standard Missile system, which will attempt the destruction of the satellite.

If left to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere on its own, it is estimated that about one-half of the USA 193 satellite could likely survive the re-entry and possibly spew pieces on populated areas of the world. In addition, sensitive devices are onboard the satellite that the United States want to keep secret.

Edwards Air Force Base includes NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center and the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. It is located in the Mojave Desert, next to the largest dry lakebed (Rogers Dry Lakebed) in North America. The base is about seven miles (eleven kilomters) east of the city of Rosamond.

The STS-122 mission is currently scheduled to land at the Kennedy Space Center at 9:06 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) (1406 GMT) on Wednesday, February 20, 2008. A backup opportunity to land at Kennedy occurs about 1.5 hours later at 10:40 a.m. EST (1540 GMT).

However, with the availability of Edwards as a landing site, NASA can land Atlantis at a second backup landing time of 12:12 p.m. EST (1712 GMT), early in the afternoon on Wednesday. If weather should prevent a landing in the morning, then NASA has the Edwards site ready for a landing.

In normal circumstances, NASA would pass on the Wednesday landing and wait twenty-four hours for another try on Thursday. However, in this special case, they want to get out of orbit as early as possible to give the military as much time as is necessary for its first-ever-tried intercept plan with the satellite.

The U.S. military announced that it will wait for the STS-122 mission to land before attempting its seek-and-destroy mission.

The United States is providing information to the world on the reasons why it is attempting this procedure. Please read on.