Keeping tabs on threatening weather, the Atlantis astronauts faced a busy day in space today, packing up equipment, setting up a recumbent seat for returning space station flier Sunita Williams and testing the shuttle's control systems to make sure they're ready for re-entry and landing Thursday at the Kennedy Space Center.

Commander Rick Sturckow and pilot Lee Archambault also plan to get in a bit of practice with a laptop computer flight simulator to rehearse landing procedures. A final round of media interviews is scheduled for 3:03 p.m. and the shuttle's KU-band antenna will be stowed for entry at 6:58 p.m., ending routine television from the orbiter.

Deorbit ignition is planned for 12:50 p.m. Thursday with landing on tap at 1:55 p.m.

There are no technical problems with the space shuttle and the only question mark is the weather. As of late Tuesday, the KSC forecast called for scattered clouds at 3,000 feet, a broken deck at 5,000 feet, overcast at 12,000 feet, winds gusting to 13 knots from 210 degrees and thunderstorms within 30 nautical miles. The low ceilings and lightning activity both violate NASA's landing flight rules.

At Edwards Air Force Base in California, the outlook is favorable for the first of two Thursday opportunities, but high winds are expected to build up as the day wears on. At White Sands, N.M., forecasters are expecting a slight chance of thunderstorms within 30 nautical miles.

The outlook in Florida remains questionable Friday and into the weekend. An updated forecast will be available later today and entry flight director Norm Knight plans to brief reporters on his entry strategy during a 5 p.m. news conference.

In the meantime, here is an updated schedule of today's activities (in EDT and mission elapsed time; includes rev. P of the NASA television schedule:

DAY,..EDT........DD...HH...MM...EVENT

06/20/07
Wed...09:08 AM...11...13...30...Cabin stow
Wed...09:58 AM...11...14...20...Flight control system checkout
Wed...11:08 AM...11...15...30...Reaction control system hotfire
Wed...11:33 AM...11...15...55...PILOT landing practice
Wed...12:00 PM...11...16...22...NASA Video File on NTV
Wed...12:28 PM...11...16...50...Deorbit review
Wed...01:03 PM...11...17...25...Crew meal
Wed...02:03 PM...11...18...25...Cabin stow resumes
Wed...02:03 PM...11...18...25...Entry video setup
Wed...02:43 PM...11...19...05...L-1 communications check
Wed...03:03 PM...11...19...25...Media interviews
Wed...04:23 PM...11...20...45...Launch-entry suit checkout
Wed...05:00 PM...11...21...22...Mission status briefing on NTV
Wed...05:53 PM...11...22...15...Wing leading edge sensor system deactivation
Wed...06:43 PM...11...23...05...Laptop computer stow (part 1)
Wed...06:58 PM...11...23...20...KU-band antenna stow
Wed...07:08 PM...11...23...30...Ergometer stow
Wed...07:38 PM...12...00...00...Recumbent seat setup (for Williams)
Wed...09:38 PM...12...02...00...Crew sleep begins
Wed...10:00 PM...12...02...22...Daily video highlights reel on NTV

06/21/07
Thu...05:38 AM...12...10...00...Crew wakeup
Thu...07:53 AM...12...12...15...Group B computer powerup
Thu...08:08 AM...12...12...30...IMU alignment
Thu...08:33 AM...12...12...55...Laptop computer stow (part 2)
Thu...08:38 AM...12...13...00...GIRA stow, PGSC stow
Thu...08:53 AM...12...13...15...Deorbit prep timeline begins
Thu...12:50 PM...12...17...12...Deorbit ignition (orbit 202)
Thu...01:41 PM...12...18...03...C-band radar acquisition
Thu...01:55 PM...12...18...17...KSC Landing

Should landing be delayed by the weather or any technical issues, Atlantis has enough fuel, air, water, electrical power and other supplies to remain in orbit until Sunday in a worst-case scenario. Friday and Saturday are available as weather waveoff days while Sunday would be held in reserve in case of technical problems. Here is a list of landing opportunities through Saturday (in EDT; times may change by a few minutes depending on orbit analysis updates):

BACKUP LANDING OPPORTUNITIES

DAY,..EDT........DD...HH...MM...EVENT

06/21/07
Thu...02:28 PM...12...18...50...KSC: Deorbit on rev 203
Thu...03:29 PM...12...19...51...KSC: Landing
Thu...03:57 PM...12...20...19...EDW: Deorbit on rev 204
Thu...04:59 PM...12...21...21...EDW: Landing
Thu...05:33 PM...12...21...55...EDW: Deorbit on rev 205
Thu...06:34 PM...12...22...56...EDW: Landing

06/22/07
Fri...01:13 PM...13...17...35...KSC: Deorbit on rev 218
Fri...02:15 PM...13...18...37...KSC: Landing
Fri...02:49 PM...13...19...11...KSC: Deorbit on rev 219
Fri...03:50 PM...13...20...12...KSC: Landing
Fri...04:18 PM...13...20...40...EDW: Deorbit on rev 220
Fri...05:20 PM...13...21...42...EDW: Landing
Fri...05:54 PM...13...22...16...EDW: Deorbit on rev 221
Fri...06:55 PM...13...23...17...EDW: Landing

06/23/07
Sat...11:58 AM...14...16...20...KSC: Deorbit on rev 233
Sat...01:00 PM...14...17...22...KSC: Landing
Sat...01:30 PM...14...17...52...NOR: Deorbit on rev. 234
Sat...02:32 PM...14...18...54...NOR: Landing
Sat...01:34 PM...14...17...56...KSC: Deorbit on rev 234
Sat...02:35 PM...14...18...57...KSC: Landing
Sat...03:03 PM...14...19...25...EDW: Deorbit on rev 235
Sat...04:05 PM...14...20...27...EDW: Landing
Sat...03:05 PM...14...19...27...NOR: Deorbit on rev 235
Sat...04:07 PM...14...20...29...NOR: Landing
Sat...04:39 PM...14...21...01...EDW: Deorbit on rev 236
Sat...05:40 PM...14...22...02...EDW: Landing
Sat...04:41 PM...14...21...03...NOR: Deorbit on rev 236
Sat...05:42 PM...14...22...04...NOR: Landing

Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO: UNIQUE VIEW OF STATION OVER TAIL OF ATLANTIS PLAY
VIDEO: ATLANTIS AS SEEN FROM STATION DURING FLYAROUND PLAY
VIDEO: FOOTAGE OF THE STATION DURING SHUTTLE FLYAROUND PLAY
VIDEO: SPACECRAFT FLY INTO SUNRISE DURING SEPARATION PLAY
VIDEO: STATION'S VIEW OF SHUTTLE ATLANTIS UNDOCKING PLAY
VIDEO: HATCHES CLOSED BETWEEN SHUTTLE AND STATION PLAY
VIDEO: SUNI WILLIAMS' TEARFUL FAREWELL MESSAGE PLAY
VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 11 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: TWO CREWS' FAREWELL CEREMONY PLAY
VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 10 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: POST-SPACEWALK STATUS UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH LEAD EVA OFFICER PLAY
VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 9 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: IN-FLIGHT CREW NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY NIGHT MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY MID-DAY COMPUTER UPDATE PLAY

VIDEO: SOLID ROCKET BOOSTER ONBOARD LAUNCH CAMERAS PLAY
VIDEO: SECOND SOLAR WING FULLY DEPLOYED PLAY
VIDEO: SECOND SOLAR WING DEPLOYED HALF-WAY PLAY
VIDEO: FIRST SOLAR WING FULLY DEPLOYED PLAY
VIDEO: FIRST SOLAR WING DEPLOYED HALF-WAY PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 4 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: POST-SPACEWALK STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: BRIEFING ON MISSION EXTENSION PLANS PLAY

VIDEO: SPACEWALK No. 1 BEGINS PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED PREVIEW OF THE SPACEWALKS PLAY
VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 3 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE CREW WELCOMED ABOARD STATION PLAY
VIDEO: ATLANTIS DOCKS WITH THE SPACE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: WATCH THE RENDEZVOUS BACKFLIP MANUEVER PLAY
VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: INSIDE MISSION CONTROL DURING LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: VIEW FROM COMPLEX 41 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD PERIMETER PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: THE VAB ROOF PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: THE PRESS SITE PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: UCS-23 TRACKER PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD FRONT CAMERA PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA AT THE BEACH PLAY

VIDEO: LAUNCH OF ATLANTIS! PLAY
VIDEO: FULL LENGTH MOVIE OF ASCENT TO ORBIT PLAY
VIDEO: EXTERNAL TANK ONBOARD VIDEO CAMERA PLAY
VIDEO: POST-LAUNCH PRESS CONFERENCE PLAY

VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS DEPART QUARTERS FOR THE PAD PLAY
VIDEO: PAD'S ROTATING SERVICE STRUCTURE RETRACTED PLAY
VIDEO: HIGHLIGHTS FROM ATLANTIS' LAUNCH CAMPAIGN PLAY
VIDEO: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PAYLOAD'S LAUNCH CAMPAIGN PLAY

MORE: STS-117 VIDEO COVERAGE
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