02:13
Online
Shuttle atlantis landing- The crew of Atlantis began deorbit procedures just hours ahead of its final return to Earth that will bring down the curtain on NASA's 30-year space shuttle program.
The four American astronauts onboard shuttered the vessel's payload bay doors, retracted its orbital navigational systems and made final preparations on the historic flight home to Kennedy Space Center, where NASA meteorologists were forecasting perfect conditions for the shuttle's pre-dawn landing.
Earlier the crew woke to the song "God Bless America," in preparation for the bittersweet end to the storied shuttle career, 42 years after US astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to step foot on the Moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission.
Atlantis was set to land at 5:56 am (0956 GMT) on Thursday, making it a rare night landing, and NASA was describing a "gorgeous night at the Kennedy Space Center."
"Sounds pretty promising to me," commander Chris Ferguson told mission control.
On Wednesday the astronauts said they were anxious to celebrate the landing with the shuttle's on-the-ground crew.
"We're very excited about seeing those folks...to share the memories of the mission with them and once again just convey how proud we are of them and what they've done over this 30 year program," shuttle pilot Doug Hurley said from Atlantis as he answered questions from the media.
Read more: Yahoo
