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Astronauts To Hold News Conference
The Atlantis astronauts will hold a traditional space-to-ground news conference this morning, and you can watch it live in The Flame Trench.

Led by veteran mission commander Scott Altman and lead spacewalker John Grunsfeld, the astronauts will speak with reporters at NASA field centers starting at 10:26 a.m.

The crew includes pilot Gregory "Ray J" Johnson and mission specialists Megan McArthur, Mike Good, Mike Massimino and Drew Feustel.

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Rescue Mission Countdown Under Way
The Atlantis astronauts are in the home stretch of their Hubble Space Telescope servicing flight and NASA is counting down to the launch of rescue mission the agency hopes it doesn't need to fly.

With Atlantis orbiting 184 miles above the planet, engineers on the ground are analyzing data gathered during an extensive survey of the shuttle's composite carbon wings and nose cap. The idea is to detect any micrometeorite or space debris damage that could endanger the astronauts during atmospheric reentry.

If engineers find critical damage that the crew cannot repair, then Endeavour would be launched early Saturday on a mission to bring home the stranded Hubble servicing crew. Four astronauts on Endeavour would rendezvous with link up with Atlantis and the stranded astronauts would use a shuttle robot arm to make spacewalking crawls from the crippled shuttle to Endeavour.

Here's the STS-400 Rescue Flight Plan.http://www.floridatoday.com/cont ... TS400FlightPlan.pdf

A three-day launch countdown picked up here at Kennedy Space Center this morning so that NASA and a four-man Endeavour crew are in position to launch a rescue mission if engineers in fact detect critical damage. Countdown clocks here at NASA's shuttle homeport are ticking toward a 7:34 a.m. launch on Saturday.

Atlantis mission commander Scott "Scooter" Altman said he believes his crew was able to gather enough imagery and laser data for engineers on the ground to spot any damage that might have been done between an initial inspection on the second day of the Atlantis flight and the survey the crew performed Tuesday.

"We did a pretty complete survey yesterday. I was very happy with all the imagery and the activity that we had to make sure we got as good an inspection as possible," Altman said in a space-to-ground interview with reporters at different NASA field centers.

"So I feel very confident that we have all the data that we need," he said. "I'm letting the experts crunch that to make sure everything looks good, From our vantage point, we think it's probably looking very good for entry and we're looking forward to that."

NASA mission managers will review the data with engineers today, and they are expected to give Atlantis a preliminary go for a landing at 10:01 a.m. Friday.

Endeavour and the rescue crew -- Chris Ferguson, Eric Bow, Stephen Bowen and Shane Kimbrough -- will remain on call until the Atlantis crew fires shuttle maneuvering engines around 9 a.m. and begins an hour-long return to KSC.

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Crew Downlinks Hubble Release Video             

                            
The Atlantis astronauts beamed back the first video today of therelease of Hubble Space Telescope Tuesday after five back-to-backspacewalks that gave the storied observatory a new lease on life.

Youcan click to enlarge the NASA TV screen grabs below. The series of fiveshots show the four-story observatory as Atlantis mission commanderScott Altman and pilot Ray J Johnson maneuvered the orbiter down andaway from the telescope. Robot arm operator Megan McArthur handled therelease.

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Final Kibo Parts Rolling to KSC Launch Pad
While shuttle Endeavour prepares for an emergency launch this week, if needed, the payload it is targeted to haul to the International Space Station next month is set to roll to a launch pad today.

The cargo for Endeavour's STS-127 mission, targeted to launch June 13, is scheduled to start rolling to Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A at 11 p.m. Bad weather has delayed the trip two days.

A transporter will carry 65-foot canister holding 25,200 pounds of gear, rotated to a vertical position. The journey from KSC's Canister Rotation Facility takes about three hours.

The payload includes the last components of the Japanese Aerospace Agency's Kibo Laboratory, featuring a "front porch" that will serve as a rack for experiments exposed to space.

A robotic arm that will be attached to Kibo's pressurized module - the largest on the station - is also set for delivery. It will position and move the external experiments.

Once at the pad, the payload canister will be lifted to the level of a storage facility inside the pad's Rotating Service Structure by 6 a.m. Thursday.

Then, during the day, the cargo will be transferred into the Payload Changeout Room, which keeps the cargo in an environmentally controlled setting while it awaits installation into the orbiter's payload bay.

The payload is being delivered to pad 39A though Endeavour sits on pad 39B.

Endeavour is still counting down toward a possible launch to rescue the Atlantis crew, in the unlikely event that ship has sustained major damage during flight. If not, NASA plans to roll the shuttle and its mobile launcher platform down to pad 39A on May 29.

Mark Polansky will command the 16-day STS-127 mission, which includes five spacewalks.

He'll be joined by pilot Douglas Hurley and mission specialists Christopher Cassidy, Thomas Marshburn, David Wolf and Julie Payette, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut.

Astronaut Tim Kopra will take over Koichi Wakata's position as a flight engineer and science officer on the station.

Wakata, who launched to the station aboard Discovery in March, will help complete Japan's lab facility and return home on Endeavour.

The STS-127 crew is scheduled to visit KSC May 31 for three days of standard pre-launch training known as the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test.

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"Tranquility" Node Arriving                                         
The International Space Station module made famous by comedian StephenColbert is due to land at Kennedy Space Center this afternoon.

Delayeda bit by rain and crosswinds at KSC, an Airbus Beluga aircraft wasscheduled to touch down at the Shuttle Landing Facility at 3:30 p.m.after a stopover in Buffalo.


The hardware was built in and delivered from Italy.

NASAlaunched a contest to name the pressurized module known as Node 3.Rallied by Colbert, a majority of voters recommended naming the nodeafter him.

Instead, NASA dubbed it "Tranquility" and named a treadmill after Colbert.

TheTranquility node will be joined to a six-windowed cupola already atKSC. It will be the last major addition to the U.S. portion of thestation.

The module will support station life support systems, while the cupola will serve as a robotics work station.

The two components are scheduled to be launched to the station aboard Endeavour in February 2010 on the STS-130 mission.

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Shuttle Heat Shield Unscathed
Blogger Update: NASA's Mission Management Team officially cleared shuttle Atlantis' Thermal Protection System for reentry during their meeting this afternoon.

An inspection of shuttle Atlantis heat shield components turned up "zero areas of interest" but NASA nonetheless will keep counting down to a potential rescue mission until its Hubble Space Telescope servicing crew starts its return to Earth.

Wielding a sensor-laden inspection boom, the astronauts surveyed the shuttle's port and starboard wings as well as its composite carbon nose cap on Tuesday and then beamed imagery and laser data to Mission Control.

Engineers reviewing the imagery found no significant damage, and NASA's Mission Management Team is expected to clear the shuttle for reentry after a review that is under way at this time.

NASA nonetheless is stepping through a three-day launch countdown to keep the agency in a position to launch Endeavour and four astronauts on a rescue mission if some systems failure or other contingency crops up before a scheduled landing Friday.

Countdown clocks picked up at 6 a.m. today and are ticking toward a T-zero at 7:34 a.m. Saturday.

Endeavour and the rescue crew will remain on standby until the shuttle begins its atmospheric reentry.

The weather for landing on Friday, meanwhile, looks terrible. Forecasters at the Spaceflight Meteorology Group at Johnson Space Center say there is a chance of thunderstorms and lightning within 30 miles of the shuttle landing strip here at Kennedy Space Center.

The outlook is so grim that Mission Control had the astronauts start powering down non-essential systems on Atlantis to conserve electrical power-production capability.

Atlantis will have three opportunities to land at KSC on Friday: 10:01 a.m., 11:39 a.m. and 1:17 p.m. Landing opportunities at KSC on Saturday would come at 9:16 a.m., 10:54 a.m. and 12:32 a.m.

The shuttle has enough power-production capability to remain in orbit until at least Sunday. Power conservation efforts might yield an extra day if need be.

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Station Crew Christens Water System
A system that converts urine, sweat and condensate into purified drinking water was christened aboard the International Space Station today as engineers at NASA field center in Texas and Alabama toasted the occasion.

Raising water bags on the station were Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, flight engineer Koichi Wakata of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and U.S. astronaut Michael Barratt.

Wakata cleared a stuck system valve Tuesday and made final hook-ups today while engineers on the ground determined the water -- which had had low levels of bacteria -- is safe to drink and gave the crew a "go" for the first toast.

Joining them on the ground were engineers at Johnson Space Center in Houston and Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. -- members of the team that designed and developed the water reclamation system.

"This is something that's been the stuff of science fiction. Everybody has talked about recycling water in a closed loop system for many years, but nobody has ever done it before," Barratt said.

"So here we are today with the first round of recycled and we have these highly attractive labels on our water bags that essentially say...'drink this when real water is more than 200 miles away,'" he said. "And we're just really really happy for this day and the team that put this together."

The water reclamation system was delivered by a shuttle crew last November, and station crews ran in to a series of troublesome start-up problems. First a Urine Distillation Assembly failed to work properly, and a replacement then had to be delivered by a shuttle crew in March.

Water sample tests showed low levels of bacteria initially but NASA flight surgeons and other project scientists say the level is so minute that it would pose no problem for resident station crews.

The start-up of the system is considered critical to plans to double the size of current three-person crews -- a huge milestone in terms of boosting the amount of research done at the outpost.

A crew of three is to be launched to the station next week, expanding to six the number of astronauts and cosmonauts working on the outpost.

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Obama Dials Up Atlantis Astronauts
Blogger Note: This just in from the White House. It's a pool report from a journalist given access to the Oval Office when the president was talking with the Atlantis astronauts:

President Obama called the crew of the Shuttle Atlantis to congratulate them for successfully repairing the Hubble Space Telescope.

The White House decided late in the day to open it up to the pool. We went in at 5:45 p.m., and at the urging of the relentless young press sherpas, came out at 5:46 p.m. It was a close encounter of the brief kind.

Your pooler could only hear the POTUS, who was sitting at his desk in the Oval Office, speak all of two words: "incredible journey."

Lots of luck filing off this pool report.

The crew of the Atlantis, included Cmdr. Scott Altman, Mission Specialist Megan McArthur, who operated the robotic arm, Astronaut John Grumsfeld, Astronaut Mike Massimino and Astronaut Drew Feustel.

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Obama Calls The Atlantis Astronauts
President Barack Obama called the crew of shuttle Atlantis tonight and congratulating them on an "incredible journey" to service NASA's flagship Hubble Space Telescope.

Click HERE to listen in on the presidential call.
http://www.floridatoday.com/content/blogs/space/POTUS%20call.mp3

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Crew Checks Out Landing Systems
The Atlantis astronauts are in the home stretch of their wildly successful Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, and they have a big fan in the White House.

President Barack Obama put in a call to the orbiting crew Wednesday evening and congratulated the seven astronauts on their "incredible journey," a challenging mission that gave the storied observatory a new lease on life.

"I was moved by your observation that Hubble is more than just a satellite, but an iconic symbol of our quest for knowledge," Obama told Atlantis lead spacewalker John Grunsfeld during a long distance call Wednesday from the Oval Office. "I thought that captured accurately the work you guys are doing."

During five back-to-back spacewalks, the Atlantis astronauts outfitted Hubble with two new state-of-the-art science instruments, repaired two others and equipped the observatory to operate at least another five to 10 years in orbit.

Obama said his daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, both were stoked by the spacewalking work.

"Well, I know you've excited my 10-year-old and my seven-year-old," Obama said.

Obama also hinted that he'll nominate a new NASA Administrator in the very near future.

"We're soon going to have a new NASA Administrator, and I can't disclose it to you, because I've got to have some hoopla on the announcement back here on Earth," he said.

"But I can assure you that it's been a high priority of mine to restore the intense wonder that space can provide, and to make sure that we've got a strong sense of mission not just within NASA but for the country as a whole."

Obama met Tuesday with former astronaut Charlie Bolden, who is said to be the leading candidate for the nomination.

Atlantis mission commander Scott Altman campaigned for Grunsfeld in a space-to-ground new conference and the presidential call.

The Atlantis astronauts today will check out critical systems in advance of atmospheric reentry and landing. The schedule:

++3:01 a.m.: Crew Wake.

++6:01 a.m.: Cabin stow.

++6:11 a.m.: Flight control system checkout.

++7:21 a.m.: Reaction Control System hot-fire.

++8:30 a.m.: Deorbit burn prep briefing.

++12:31 p.m.: Testify before Senate committee.

++2:41 p.m.: National media interviews.

++3:06 p.m.: Ku-band antenna stowage.

++6:01 p.m.: Crew sleep.

Obama also wished the astronauts a safe return to Earth.

Just when that happens, though, is highly dependent on the weather, and the outlook is pretty bleak on Friday.

The Atlantis astronauts aim to land at Kennedy Space Center at 10:01 a.m. Friday, and would have two opportunities to return to Florida's Space Coast later that day.

But the weather in Florida has been rainy, windy and nasty over the past two days and forecasters are calling for a chance of thunderstorms, lightning, rainshowers and low cloud decks on Friday.

Those conditions would prompt NASA to keep the shuttle and its crew in orbit an extra day in hopes that the weather might clear by Saturday.

The shuttle has enough power-producing capability to remain in orbit until at least Sunday.

The grim forecast prompted the astronauts to power down all but essential systems on Wednesday, and the conservation efforts might yield enough capability to remain in orbit until Monday in a worst case.

Shuttle Endeavour and a crew of four astronauts will remain on call for a potential rescue mission until Atlantis heads home.

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Hubble crew testifies in Senate
From Eun Kyung Kim:

WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulksi was positively giddy today about a very special long distance phone call - from space.

The Space Shuttle Atlantis crew testified at the Maryland Democrat's committee hearing. Mikulski chairs the committee that oversees NASA's budget.

The crew of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, which just finished repairs to the Hubble Space Telescope, testified from orbit before a captive audience that applauded several times at their appearance on a large screen television in the hearing room.

"As you close the hatch on Hubble, you have now opened a new door on a new era of scientific discovery. Hubble is the people's telescope," Mikulski told the crew. "What you've done to refocus and recharge the Hubble telescope is appreciated. We appreciate the daring and the difficult and the dangerous things you've done."

Asked to detail "those nailbiting moments," pilot Gregory Johnson told the senator that each spacewalk had him worried.

"From the pilot's perspective, I was on the edge of my seat on all five," he said.

Mission specialist Michael Massimino described the details of a particularly risky spacewalk, in which he had to use some elbow grease to loosen a stuck bolt.

"We tried to think of every problem we could come up with and were prepared, I thought, for everything, but we never expected that particular bolt to give us trouble," Massimino said. "When it did, and when we started getting the suggestions from the ground, I really thought that we were in trouble. I couldn't see how we were going to be able to continue the repair at that point."

Sen. Bill Nelson, the Florida Democrat who flew on a 1986 Shuttle mission, told the crew, "Hey, guys, I wish I were up there with you."

Mikulski ended the conversation wishing them a safe return to Earth. She said she and Nelson look forward to welcoming them in person to the Senate, "where we can give you a great big Hubble hug."

Mikulski had billed the conversation with the shuttle crew as a first, but NASA astronaut John Phillips testified to Congress from orbit in 2005

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Bolden to be named NASA chief this morning
Charlie Bolden will be named NASA Administrator this morning, according to Washington sources.

As expected for more than a week now, President Barack Obama has selected the former astronaut and Marine Corps veteran to lead the nation's space agency. (Bolden is pictured at top left, in the pilot's seat before re-entry on one of his shuttle missions).

However, sources are telling space media outlets including FLORIDA TODAY the appointment is being timed to the landing of the space shuttle Atlantis and seven astronauts later this morning at Kennedy Space Center or Edwards Air Force Base.

NBC News' Jay Barbree and the Orlando Sentinel reported this morning the announcement could be today. Sources confirmed that this morning and a White House public announcement was expected during the 8 a.m. hour, FLORIDA TODAY has learned.

Bolden met with Obama on Tuesday morning at the White House to talk over the position, a meeting announced in advance by the White House, which telegraphed at the time that Bolden was on the verge of being picked. Bolden had been on the short list of candidates since Mike Griffin's resignation became effective on Jan. 20.

Bolden flew the space shuttle four times -- twice as a pilot and twice as a commander. His biggest lobbyist in Washington was U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat on key committees overseeing NASA. The White House had pitched other candidates to Senate leaders, including Nelson, but he held firm for his old friend. Nelson had flown with Bolden on a space shuttle mission in 1985.

Eun Kim reported from Washington and Todd Halvorson reported from Kennedy Space Center for this report.

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Obama nominates Bolden to be NASA chief
President Barack Obama today nominated former astronaut Charles Bolden to be named the next NASA administrator.

Obama nominated Lori Garver to be Bolden's deputy.

"These talented individuals will help put NASA on course to boldly push the boundaries of science, aeronautics and exploration in the 21st century and ensure the long-term vibrancy of America's space program," Obama said.

If approved by the Senate, Bolden would become the first African-American to lead the space agency.

Bolden could not immediately be reached for comment on his Houston home or on his cell phone.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, the Florida Democrat who flew with Bolden on a 1986 shuttle mission, was one of the former astronaut's biggest backers.

Nelson described Bolden as the right pick to take on the hurdles facing NASA, particularly budget restrictions and the impending retirement of the shuttle.

"Charlie is the kind of dynamic leader I believe the president was looking for and I know he'll meet these challenges head on," he said.

U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna Beach, called the nomination "a positive sign for the future of our human spaceflight program."

"Gen. Bolden's background has given him the relevant management and technical experience to address the great challenges facing NASA today," said Kosmas, whose district includes Kennedy Space Center. "General Bolden is eminently qualified to accomplish this important mission."

Originally, an announcement had been expected after shuttle Atlantis landed, but NASA waved off the landing attempts today due to bad weather. NASA will try to land again Sunday.

Bolden met with Obama on Tuesday morning at the White House to talk over the position, a meeting announced in advance by the White House, which telegraphed at the time that Bolden was on the verge of being picked. Bolden had been on the short list of candidates since Mike Griffin's resignation became effective on Jan. 20.

Bolden flew the space shuttle four times -- twice as a pilot and twice as a commander. His biggest lobbyist in Washington was U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat on key committees overseeing NASA. The White House had pitched other candidates to Senate leaders, including Nelson, but he held firm for his old friend. Nelson had flown with Bolden on a space shuttle mission in 1985.

Garver, a former NASA associate administrator for policy, was Obama's point person on space during his presidential campaign.

Includes reporting by Eun Kyung Kim in Washington and Todd Halvorson at Kennedy Space Center.

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NASA Go/No-Go Coming Up At 10:10 AM
NASA Chief Astronaut Steve Lindsey is flying weather reconnaissance around the central Florida area while mission managers hang on to hopes that they can bring Atlantis and its Hubble Space Telescope servicing crew.

The shuttle and its crew will be landing before noon today. The question is whether they'll land at 11:48 a.m. at KSC or 11:39 a.m. at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Atlantis will run out of electrical power after Monday, so NASA mission managers will direct Atlantis to land on one of the upcoming opportunities. There is one other opportunity available at Edwards at 1:17 p.m.

"We hope thing improve and you get comfortable with Kennedy," Atlantis mission commander Scott Altman told Mission Control.

Mission Control is concerned that clouds in the KSC area could heat up and triggering the development of thunderstorms in the area.

There also is concern that thunderstorms that have been offshore southeast of Cape Canaveral could move within 30 miles of the three-mile shuttle runway at KSC -- a condition that would violate NASA flight rules.

The plan now is to continue monitoring the weather at KSC right up until about 10:10 a.m. -- about 15 minutes before a planned deorbit burn for the 11:39 a.m. opportunity at Edwards.

The deobit burn for the KSC would come about 10:40 a.m.

The weather at Edwards is excellent. NASA astronaut Chris Ferguson is flying weather reconnaissance in the skies around the Mojave Desert military base.

"It will come down to the wire in terms of deciding whether Atlantis will land on the west coast or the east coast," NASA flight commentator Kyle Herring said.

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Crew Given Go For California Landing
NASA has given shuttle Atlantis a go for a 10:24 a.m. deorbit burn.

Flying the shuttle upside down and backwards, Atlantis mission commander Scott Altman will fire the shuttle's twin maneuvering engines for about two-and-a-half minutes, slowing the shuttle enough to drop it out of orbit.

Landing is scheduled for 11:39 a.m. at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

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Atlantis Lands Safely In California
Blogger Note: We're experiencing technical problems with or textmessaging system. Text messages are arriving after significant delays.We apologize for any inconvenience.

Shuttle Atlantis andseven astronauts landed safely today at Edwards Air Force Base inCalifornia, winding up a wildly successful mission to service theHubble Space Telescope for a fifth and final time.


With veteran mission commander Scott Altman at the controls, Atlantisswooped out of a clear blue California sky, touched down, and then rollto a stop on Runway 22 at the Mojave Desert military base.

"Houston, Atlantis, wheels stop," Altman said. "Edwards two-two."

"Welcomehome Atlantis," NASA astronaut Gregory "Box" Johnson replied from theMission Control Center at Johnson Space Center in Houston.""Congratulations on a very successful mission, giving Hubble a new setof eyes that will continue to expand our knowledge of the universe."

"Thankyou, Houston," Altman said. "It was a thrill from start to finish. Wehad a great ride. It took a whole team across the country to pull itoff. Our hats are off to you all. Thank you very much."


Atlantis touched down at 225 mph with a 15 mph headwind straight down the runway.

The landing capped a 5.2-million-mile mission that was launched May 11 and stretched out over the course of the past two weeks.

Theastronauts performed five back-to-back spacewalks, outfitting Hubblewith two new state-of-the-art science instruments and repairing twoothers while equipping the flagship observatory to operate at leastanother five years.

It was NASA's 126th shuttle mission and the 30th for Atlantis. Shuttle orbiters now have landed at Edwards 53 times.

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Shuttle Astronauts Inspect Spaceship
The Atlantis astronauts are back on terra firma in California after afifth and final mission to service the NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.And mission commander Scott Altman is glad to be back.


"When we got down to Florida (for launch)," I looked at everybody andsaid, 'At last!' Altman said after his crew inspected Atlantis onRunway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Of course,Altman was referring to the two-and-a-half years his seven-member crewtrained for a mission that was ready to launch last October and thenwas delayed so a spare Hubble science instrument controller could beflown.

"I didn't realize it was going to be so hard to get backto the Earth in the end. So again, I guess I say the same thing, 'Atlast!' We're back on the ground."


Altman and his crew gathered for a photo opp on the landing strip, andhe said he was happy to be at the Mojave Desert military base.

"It'sgreat to be here at Edwards Air Force Base and NASA Dryden (FlightResearch Center). Having this facility for us to come home to today isjust awesome," he said.

"It was beautiful weather. We saw thefield from about 100 miles out, and landing here just felt great toeverybody. So we're all thrilled to have the mission complete. It was atestament to the teamwork and cooperation of folks all across thecountry, and we want to thank everybody."

Click read more to see additional photos of the astronauts after they stepped out on to Runway 22 to inspect the spaceship.

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Quietly, SpaceShipTwo marches toward reality
Editor's Note: My new space column runs Monday in the FLORIDA TODAY newspaper, but you'll be able to see it here early on Sundays. Thanks, and please click comment below to weigh in or e-mail me at jkelly@floridatoday.com.

Lots of people will be flying in space even after the space shuttles retire.

Florida's Space Coast will lament the end of the shuttle program and the loss of thousands of great jobs. But, 2010 could mark the start of one of the most exciting periods in the history of human space flight.

Gigantic leaps forward in our ability to fly people in space are coming and they're coming fast.

One of the most exciting is quietly marching toward history.

Out west, in the deserts of California and New Mexico, work is progressing on a launch system, a spaceship and a spaceport for the international partnership that is the odds-on favorite to become the world's first spaceline for tourists.

In Mojave, the loss of three lives in a test-firing accident slowed but did not stop the development of SpaceShipTwo for Virgin Galactic.

The aircraft that will carry the spaceship to its "launch site" in the sky has already broken records in test flights. The football-shaped spacecraft could be rolled out for public viewing this fall and could make test flights soon after.

The British company says hundreds of people have made deposits on the $200,000 tickets for one of six seats aboard the spaceliner once test flights prove its safe.

It's hard to believe it's been five years since designer Burt Rutan paired with visionaries like Richard Branson and Paul Allen for the history-making flights of SpaceShipOne.

In New Mexico, Spaceport America is about to spring up on ground where photographer Craig Bailey and I found little more than jackrabbits, snakes and woodpeckers a couple years ago.

Back then, Craig and I went miles off road, four-wheeling over dangerous road, to get to a dusty, desolate spot not marked on official maps - a place New Mexico was dubbing the future of space travel. We found a slab of concrete and some sheds at a place where government officials were telling us they would erect a Jetsons-style spaceport as a U.S. launch base for the Virgin Galactic fleet.

Claims that flights might start in 2010 drew snickers and skepticism at first, but take a look now. Roads have been built, utilities extended and financial challenges overcome. Next month, workers will break ground on a spaceport that once was a small-state governor's pipe dream.

To be sure, Virgin Galactic representatives stress, "We are not in a race." The partners aim to take as long as necessary to test SpaceShipTwo before starting flights with tourists on board. But even the early piloted test flights will be exciting.

Other space-tourism ventures are making progress too, but none with this kind of financial and technical pedigree behind them.

You might say, too bad it's not happening here. But, I foresee big spillover benefits for Brevard County.

Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral remain the best-outfitted and most-storied space launch bases in the world. Branson, for instance, has called the shuttle landing strip at KSC a good place for a SpaceShipTwo launch site once the spaceliner is up and running.

Don't worry too much about where the breakthroughs happen. A rapid expansion in the capability to launch people and things to space inevitably boosts the aerospace business here.

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Photo Fest: Atlantis Makes Picture-Perfect Landing
                            
The Atlantis astronauts are undergoing post-flight medical examinationsafter capping their highly successful Hubble Space Telescope servicingflight with a spectacular landing at Edwards Air Force Base.

Hereis a series of 12 NASA TV screen shots that show the winged shuttleorbiter making its final approach, landing and rollout on Runway 22 atthe Mojave Desert military base.

You can click to enlarge and save each of them:

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Atlantis Ferry Flight Could Begin Sunday                                          Editor's note: updated at 3:45 p.m.

NASA expects shuttle Atlantis to be ready as early as Sunday for a ferry flight home from California.

About100 Kennedy Space Center technicians and engineers this week willtravel to Edwards Air Force Base to help prepare Atlantis for theflight atop a modified Boeing 747, joining roughly 50 more who werestationed there for the orbiter's landing Sunday morning.

Allthe work to return a shuttle from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Centerat Edwards adds about $1.8 million to the cost of a shuttle mission,according to the agency.

Here's a basic breakdown:

--$1.15 million: Processing to drain shuttle systems of propellants andprepare the vehicle for a ferry flight, inclduing the cost of travel,lodging and overtime for dozens of contractors.
-- $354,000: Operation of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and a pathfinder aircraft.
-- $125,000: Travel for civil service employees.
-- $140,000: Support provided by Dryden, including security.

The space shuttle program budgets for the cost, which any mission couldincur, but the program could use the money for other purposes if ashuttle landed at its home port, KSC.

After waiting for badweather at KSC to clear Friday and Saturday, mission managers on Sundayfinally directed Atlantis and seven astronauts to end their successfulfinal voyage to the Hubble Space Telescope with a touchdown at Edwards.

Workersthere will make sure the spaceship is safe for the upcomingcross-country flight, including drying its tanks, engines and thrustersof residual propellants, among other tasks.

On Monday, the orbiter was hoisted into a gantry-like structure calledthe "Mate-Demate Device" for servicing prior to being attached to thejumbo jet, one of two Shuttle Carrier Aircraft NASA can use to ferryorbiters.

The trip home to KSC is expected to take two days, weather permitting.

Meanwhile, work continues at KSC to ready shuttle Endeavour for its planned Saturday morning move to launch pad 39A.

Some steps taken so Endeavour could be ready to launch quickly from pad39B for a rescue of the Atlantis crew must now be undone, likedisconnection of the explosive devices that would separate the orbiterfrom its mobile launcher platform, external tank and solid rocketboosters.

Endeavour is targeted to launch June 13 to theInternational Space Station, on a 16-day mission that will completeassembly of the Japanese Kibo lab complex.

At pad 39A,Endeavour's cargo was transferred Monday from a canister into thelaunch complex's Payload Changeout Room, an environmentally controlledstorage facility mirroring a shuttle's payload bay.

Workers today are spraying Fondue Fyre, a flame-resistant,concrete-like material, on a 25-square-foot area of a flame trenchdeflector that was damaged during the May 11 launch of Atlantis.

Damaged pneumatic lines have been repaired, and the pad fixes are not expected to impact Endeavour's launch date.

Shuttleprogram managers are set to meet Wednesday by video conference for apreliminary review of Endeavour's readiness. An executive flightreadiness review scheduled June 3 at KSC will officially set the launchdate.

The seven Atlantis astronauts, led by mission commanderScott Altman, today are scheduled to participate in a 5 p.m. EDTwelcome ceremony at Ellington Field near Johnson Space Center inHouston.