BY SPACEFLIGHT NOW WRITERS

September 20, 2000 -- Follow the mission of space shuttle Atlantis to outfit the International Space Station. Reload this page for the very latest on the mission.

0848 GMT (4:48 a.m. EDT)

All seven of Atlantis' astronauts have left the shuttle. They are currently inside the motorized Crew Transport Vehicle. It is expected that at least some of the astronauts will make the traditional walkaround of the shuttle on the runway shortly. Later, the astronauts will head to Kennedy Space Center's Operations & Checkout Building to be reunited with their families.

0825 GMT (4:25 a.m. EDT)

The Crew Transport Vehicle -- a modified airport "People Mover" -- has pulled into position next to Atlantis' crew hatch. The CTV features beds and comfortable seats for the astronauts to receive medical checks and get their balance after returning to Earth's gravity from the weightless environment of space.

0807 GMT (4:07 a.m. EDT)

Post-landing safing of Atlantis is underway. The initial team of inspectors have reached the shuttle check for any vapors or leaks. It will be another 45 minutes or so before the astronauts exit Atlantis.

0802 GMT (4:02 a.m. EDT)

The astronauts are going through standard post-landing safing of Atlantis. The main engine nozzles are being moved to the "rain drain" position and the external tank umbilical doors have been opened. Also, pilot Scott Horowitz has shut down Atlantis' three Auxiliary Power Units.

0758 GMT (3:58 a.m. EDT)

WHEELS STOP. Atlantis has rolled to a stop at Kennedy Space Center, completing its 12-day.

0756 GMT (3:56 a.m. EDT)

TOUCHDOWN! Main gear touchdown. Drag chute deployed. Nose gear touchdown. Space shuttle Atlantis rolls out on Runway 15 at the Kennedy Space Center to complete a successful 4.9-million voyage to outfit the international space station for its first residents due this fall.

0756 GMT (3:56 a.m. EDT)

Wheels down and locked. Standing by for touchdown on Kennedy Space Center's Runway 15.

0755 GMT (3:55 a.m. EDT)

Field in sight. Commander Wilcutt can see the runway as he pilots Atlantis to the 15th nighttime landing in shuttle program history.

0754 GMT (3:54 a.m. EDT)

Atlantis is in the heading alignment cone, an imaginary circle to align with Runway 15. Terry Wilcutt will make a 240-degree left-overhead turn. Speed is 500 miles per hour.

0753 GMT (3:53 a.m. EDT)

Commander Terry Wilcutt has taken manual control of Atlantis. The sonic booms have been heard at KSC, announcing the shuttle's arrival.

0752 GMT (3:52 a.m. EDT)

Altitude 10 miles, distance to the runway now 68 miles.

0751 GMT (3:51 a.m. EDT)

Now five minutes from touchdown at the Kennedy Space Center. Drag chute deployment will be per the normal plan.

0748 GMT (3:48 a.m. EDT)

Air data probes have been deployed from the shuttle's nose to feed pressure information to the onboard computers.

0747 GMT (3:47 a.m. EDT)

Atlantis nearing the coast of Florida. Altitude now 25 miles.

0746 GMT (3:46 a.m. EDT)

The TACAN navigation units aboard Atlantis are now receiving data from beacons located at the runway at Kennedy Space Center. Ten minutes to landing.

0744 GMT (3:44 a.m. EDT)

Now 12 minutes to touchdown. Altitude is currently 31 miles. Distance to the runway is 427 miles.

0743 GMT (3:43 a.m. EDT)

The shuttle is banking to right, the second of four rolls during entry designed to reduce speed. Atlantis currently over the Gulf of Mexico.

0741 GMT (3:41 a.m. EDT)

Now 15 minutes to touchdown. Altitude 35 miles, distance to Kennedy Space Center is 823 miles.

0739 GMT (3:39 a.m. EDT)

Atlantis has made landfall over North America, flying high over southern Mexico.

0737 GMT (3:37 a.m. EDT)

The space shuttle is currently in the first of four planned banks to scrub off speed as it plunges into the atmosphere. This is a turn to the left. These rolls basically remove the energy Atlantis built up during launch.

Atlantis is currently at altitude of 42 miles, range to touchdown is 1,800 miles.

0735 GMT (3:35 a.m. EDT)

Landing today will occur on Runway 15 at the Kennedy Space Center -- the southeast to northwest strip of the Shuttle Landing Facility. This is a change from Runway 33 based on the recommendation by Chief Astronaut Charlie Precourt flying in the Shuttle Training Aircraft at the site. Precourt says the new runway approach will ease commander Terry Wilcutt's work load piloting the shuttle and improve flying characterists of the spaceplane.

Upon arrival at the heading alignment circle in skies at KSC, commander Wilcutt will make a 240-degree left-overhead turn to align Atlantis with the runway of choice. Touchdown is expected at 3:56 a.m. EDT (0756 GMT).

The SLF was built in 1975. It is 300 feet wide and 15,000 feet long with 1,000-foot overruns at each end. The strip is located about 3 miles northwest of the 525-foot tall Vehicle Assembly Building.

0730 GMT (3:30 a.m. EDT)

All is reported in readiness at Kennedy Space Center for landing at 3:56 a.m. EDT. The landing convoy team members are briefed and on station to support post-landing work to safe the shuttle after wheels stop. Atlantis will be towed to its Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 hangar later this morning.

The latest weather observation at the runway shows a visibility of 10 miles, clear skies, southeasterly winds at 8 knots, a temperature of 82 degrees F and relavity humidity of 88 percent.

0725 GMT (3:25 a.m. EDT)

The protective tiles on the belly of Atlantis are now feeling heat beginning to build as the orbiter enters the top fringes of the atmosphere -- a period known as Entry Interface. The shuttle is flying with its nose elevated 40 degrees, wings level, at an altitude of 400,000 feet, passing over the southern Pacific Ocean, about 4,400 nautical miles from the landing site, at a velocity of Mach 25, descending at a rate of 500 feet per second. Touchdown is set for 3:56 a.m. EDT at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

0714 GMT (3:14 a.m. EDT)

Commander Terry Wilcutt has maneuvered Atlantis from its upside down, tail-forward position needed for the deorbit burn to the reentry configuration of heads-up and nose-forward. The nose also will be pitched upward 40 degrees. In this new position, the black tiles on the shuttle's belly will shield the spacecraft during the fiery plunge through the Earth's atmosphere.

0712 GMT (3:12 a.m. EDT)

All three Auxiliary Power Units are running to supply pressure to the shuttle's hydraulic systems, which in turn move Atlantis' aerosurfaces and deploy the landing gear. One unit was started prior to the deorbit burn; the others just a few moments ago. Mission Control reports seeing good pressures in all three APUs. The units are only activated during the launch and landing phases of the shuttle mission.

0653 GMT (2:53 a.m. EDT)

DEORBIT BURN COMPLETE. Atlantis has successfully completed the deorbit burn, committing the shuttle for its journey back to Earth. Landing is scheduled for 3:56 a.m. EDT (0756 GMT) on runway 33 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Today's landing will be the 23rd consecutive to occur at Kennedy Space Center dating back to May 1996 and the 30th of the last 31 shuttle missions. KSC is the most used landing site for the space shuttle program with this the 52nd touchdown. Edwards Air Force Base in California has seen 45 landings and White Sands in New Mexico supported one. This also will be the 15th night landing for a space shuttle.

0650 GMT (2:50 a.m. EDT)

Flying upside down and backwards over the Indian Ocean, Atlantis has begun the deorbit burn. The firing of the two orbital maneuvering system engines on the tail of the shuttle will last three-minutes, 16-seconds, slowing the craft by a little over 200 miles per hour, just enough to slip from orbit. The retro-burn will send Atlantis toward a touchdown at 3:56 a.m. EDT on a runway just miles from the Kennedy Space Center launch pad where the shuttle lifted off 12 days ago.

0645 GMT (2:45 a.m. EDT)

Pilot Scott Altman has activated Auxiliary Power Unit No. 2 in advance of the burn, now five minutes away. The other two APUs will be started later in the descent to provide pressure needed to power shuttle's hydraulic systems that move the wing flaps, rudder/speed brake, drop the landing gear and steer the nose wheel. NASA ensures that at least one APU is working before committing to the deorbit burn since the shuttle only needs a single unit to make a safe landing.

0632 GMT (2:32 a.m. EDT)

Atlantis has started maneuvers in space to the deorbit burn attitude. The shuttle will be flying upside-down and backwards with its tail pointed in the direction of travel. The upcoming burn, now 17 minutes away, will slow Atlantis below orbital velocity, allowing the craft to slip from space and begin the hour-long glide to a pin-point touchdown at 3:56 a.m. EDT (0620 GMT) at Florida's Kennedy Space Center.

0626 GMT (2:26 a.m. EDT)

GO FOR THE DEORBIT BURN! With acceptable weather at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Mission Control has given space shuttle Atlantis the "go" to perform the deorbit burn at 2:50 a.m. EDT (0650 GMT), a 3-minute, 16-second engine firing that will drop the spaceplane from orbit. Atlantis is headed toward an nighttime landing at 3:56 a.m. EDT (0756 GMT) on Runway 33 at KSC to conclude the 12-day STS-106 mission to deliver supplies to the International Space Station.

0621 GMT (2:21 a.m. EDT)

The latest weather update for the Kennedy Space Center shows conditions are currently observed "go" and forecast "go" for landing on time today at 3:56 a.m. EDT. Entry Flight Director should be making his final call on the deorbit burn in the next couple of minutes.

0539 GMT (1:39 a.m. EDT)

Signaling a major step forward to today's entry and landing of space shuttle Atlantis, Mission Control has just instructed the astronauts to begin their "fluid load procedure" in which they drink a fair amount of liquids to help in readapting to Earth's gravity. Typically, controllers don't have the crew begin drinking unless landing is a realistic possibility.

Mission Control reports the weather at Kennedy Space Center is currently acceptable and trending in a positive direction. Touchdown on the three-mile-long runway is scheduled for 3:56 a.m. EDT (0756 GMT).

0525 GMT (1:25 a.m. EDT)

Now about one hour from the time in which Entry Flight Director Wayne Hale will have to decided whether or not Atlantis can return to Earth on time with a touchdown at 3:56 a.m. EDT. The entry would begin with a deorbit burn using the twin maneuvering engines on the shuttle's tail at 2:50 a.m. EDT.

At this point the weather remains somewhat dynamic with clouds in the area around Kennedy Space Center. But officials are still hopeful Atlantis will be able to land as planned today.

Currently the astronauts are beginning to don their day-glow orange partial pressure suits worn during launch and landing.

0415 GMT (12:15 a.m. EDT)

Atlantis' two 60-foot long payload bay doors have been closed and locked for today's homecoming. And the astronauts are now preparing to transition the shuttle's computers to the OPS-3 software program the governs entry and landing.

The scheduled 3:56 a.m. EDT touchdown at the Kennedy Space Center is pending acceptable weather conditions. Weather forecasters report there are some troublesome clouds around the area that are making the situation a bit iffy right now.

0300 GMT (11:00 p.m. EDT)

The shuttle crew has stepped into their deorbit preparation timeline for the scheduled predawn landing at 3:56 a.m. EDT. But weather forecasters are being a bit less optimistic about conditions at the Kennedy Space Center landing site. Rainshowers around the Central Florida region are a concern.

0045 GMT (8:45 p.m. EDT)

The Atlantis astronauts are awake and the Entry Team of flight controllers have taken over in Mission Control as the shuttle heads for a landing in about seven hours at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Only rainshowers around the Cape threaten to keep the shuttle in space for an extra orbit or day. Atlantis is due to land at 3:56 a.m. EDT. A backup opportunity is available one orbit later at 5:33 a.m. EDT.

If the shuttle is not cleared for either option, NASA officials will keep Atlantis and crew in space for 24 hours before trying again Thursday morning. The alternate landing site at Edwards Air Force Base in California is not supporting tonight since the shuttle has enough consumables to stay aloft in hopes of good weather in Florida.

The seven-member crew will begin following a formal de-orbit timeline around 10:50 p.m. EDT tonight, some four hours before firing the twin orbital maneuvering system engines for the deorbit burn to drop Atlantis from space. The two 60-foot long payload bay doors will be swung closed at 12:09 a.m. EDT.

A "go/no go" decision whether to land on-time will be made by Entry Flight Director Wayne Hale at around 2:30 a.m. EDT. If Atlantis is give a "go" to come home, the three-minute, 21-second deorbit burn would start at 2:49:17 a.m. EDT.

We will provide status updates through the evening of Atlantis' homecoming.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2000
1100 GMT (7:00 a.m. EDT)

The astronauts checked out Atlantis' flight controls and just thrusters today in a routine series tests before Wednesday's high-speed reentry and landing to cap the STS-106 mission. No problems were reported and the shuttle remains in good shape for touchdown at Florida's Kennedy Space Center at 3:56 a.m. EDT (0756 GMT).

The weather forecast is generally favorable for an on-time landing with the only slight concern being rain showers around the Cape.

Crew members are spending the rest of their day packing up Atlantis' cabin, stowing equipment and cleaning for the homecoming. They will begin an eight-hour sleep period at 10:46 a.m. EDT.

0245 GMT (10:45 p.m. EDT)

We have posted the revised flight plan for the astronauts, and we have a look at just today's agenda. In addition, the latest version of the NASA TV Schedule, known as Rev. I, has been issued.

0001 GMT (8:01 p.m. EDT)

The seven shuttle astronauts were awakened at 6:46 p.m. EDT to begin their final full day in space before Wednesday's predawn landing at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The wake up song was "Home in the Islands" by The Brothers Cazimero, played for Ed Lu who considers Honolulu a hometown.

On tap tonight will be a test of the shuttle's aerosurfaces at 9:46 p.m. EDT and a hotfire check of Atlantis' reaction control system thrusters at 10:56 p.m. EDT. These tests are done to ensure all systems are in good shape for the entry and landing. In addition, the crew will pack up the shuttle's cabin for the homecoming.

Landing remains scheduled for Wednesday at 3:56 a.m. EDT. Check out our deorbit and landing opportunities page for full details.

Read our earlier Mission Status Center coverage.