Endeavour Steers Tword Friday Landing

The space shuttle Endeavour is in great shape and ready for its return back home to the Kennedy Space Center tomorrow morning following 16 days in earth orbit.

Currently, landing here at KSC's shuttle landing facility will be at 10:48 am EDT, on runway 15.

Endeavour's commander Mark Polansky and pilot Doug Hurley will burn the ship's small twin engines at 9:45 am EDT on Friday to begin its free fall back to earth. About twenty minutes later, Endeavour will begin feeling the effects of earth's upper atmosphere as reentry begins.

Landing will come on the mission's 248th orbit of the earth, as the orbiter tracks from the central Pacific Ocean and northeast as it flys over central America, over the Caribbean Sea and up over Cuba as it heads to Kennedy.

Endeavour, which launched on July 15th, is expected to see generally good weather during her mid-morning approach to the Florida Space Coast.

Weather is forecast to be partly cloudy with an air tempertaure of 82 degrees just prior to the 10:48 am landing time. Thunderstorms, which could occur later in the afternoon, will not be an issue.