Status Report

Landing Preparations on Last Full Day in Space for Atlantis

By SpaceRef Editor
July 19, 2011
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Landing Preparations on Last Full Day in Space for Atlantis
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Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim woke up at 9:32 p.m. EDT to Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man.” It was followed by a prerecorded message from Kennedy Space Center employees.

“Three … two … one … Good morning, Atlantis!” the group said. “Kennedy salutes you. See you back at wheels stop!”

The STS-135 crew will spend the day checking out the shuttle’s flight control surfaces and hot firing its reaction control system jets, making sure everything is ready for deorbit. They’ll also pause in their work for one last round of interviews with reporters back home – at 4:44 a.m., the crew will be talking with ABC News, CBS News, CNN, FoxNews and NBC News.

SpaceRef staff editor.