TAG | Shuttle Endeavour heading for home |
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| by Stephen Withers | |
| Tuesday, 25 March 2008 | |
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Weather permitting, the shuttle is expected to land at Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday at either 7:05pm or 8:39pm EDT. If conditions are not suitable the landing will be delayed until the following day, and if necessary moved to Edwards Air Force Base or White Sands Space Harbor. In related news, the ESA's Jules Verne automated transfer vehicle (ATV) is in a parking orbit 2000m ahead of the ISS, ready for final trials on March 29 and 31, just days ahead of the automatic rendezvous and docking scheduled for April 3. Jules Verne was launched on March 9, and the autonomous craft is carrying cargo, propellant, water and oxygen to the ISS. Four months after docking, the ATV - with its payload replaced with waste material - will separate from the space station, leave orbit and burn up on re-entry. Since the ATV program has cost ESA around €1.3 billion, that probably makes Jules Verne the most expensive incinerator ever constructed.
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