Mission Status Center

The Orbiter Boom Sensor System has been berthed in the payload bay, its job complete for the mission. Analysts on the ground will be examining all of the imagery gathered and should have the heat shield cleared of any concern by tomorrow.

The surveys are finished, and the crew is returning the inspection boom to its cradle in the payload bay.

Running basically on the timeline, observations of the port wing are continuing aboard shuttle Atlantis. This is the third and final part of the inspections for today.

After taking a few minutes to use the boom cameras and check the dump nozzle on the side of Atlantis, the heat shield inspections of the port wing are getting underway. During a waste water dump earlier this morning, an apparent clog prevented the shuttle's storage tank from being emptied completely. This examination of the nozzle confirms there's no external ice buildup. Engineers suspect the problem is somewhere in the internal plumbing.

Inspections of the reinforced carbon-carbon nose cap of the shuttle are complete.

The right wing has been scanned using the laser and camera package of the Orbiter Boom Sensor System. The crew is swinging the boom in position to inspect Atlantis' nose cap next.

These inspections are similar to the ones performed the day after launch. Today's survey results will be compared with the earlier data to ensure the orbiter's wing leading edge panels and nose cap are free of any space debris impacts that could have occurred during the mission.

Atlantis' robot arm has grappled the Orbiter Boom Sensor System and lifted the 50-foot-long inspection tool out of the payload bay for today's heat shield inspections that will begin with the starboard wing's RCC panels.

The shuttle is quickly departing the vicinity of the space station following separation burn No. 2.

The astronauts will spend the rest of their workday using the Orbiter Boom Sensor System to inspect the shuttle's wing leading edge panels and nose cap to look for any space debris or micrometeoroid damage that could have occurred during the mission. Standard day-before-landing tests of Atlantis' flight controls and thrusters, along with packing up the cabin for entry will fill the crew's Thanksgiving in orbit.

Landing at the Kennedy Space Center on Runway 33 to conclude this spaceflight is scheduled for Friday at 9:44 a.m. EST.

The early weather forecast appears favorable.

Here's a look at the landing times for Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday at KSC and Edwards Air Force Base, California: (all times EST)

ORBIT....SITE.....DEORBIT....LANDING

Friday, Nov. 27

171......KSC......08:41 AM...09:44 AM
172......KSC......10:16 AM...11:19 AM

Saturday, Nov. 28

187......KSC......08:56 AM...09:59 AM
188......EDW......10:25 AM...11:29 AM
.........KSC......10:33 AM...11:34 AM*
189......EDW......12:01 PM...01:03 PM
190......EDW......01:38 PM...02:38 PM

Sunday, Nov. 29

202......KSC......07:34 AM...08:38 AM
203......KSC......09:09 AM...10:12 AM
204......EDW......10:38 AM...11:42 AM
205......EDW......12:14 PM...01:16 PM

Monday, Nov. 30:

218......KSC......07:47 AM...08:51 AM
219......KSC......09:23 AM...10:26 AM
220......EDW......10:52 AM...11:55 AM
221......EDW......12:28 PM...01:30 PM

*Orbit adjust burn required

Now about a mile of separation beween the two craft as Atlantis moves away at five feet per second.

The space shuttle is climbing high above and behind the station.

Atlantis now more than 1,000 feet above the station.

The shuttle just performed the first of two separation engine firings. This brief burn changed Atlantis' speed by about 1.5 feet per second.

Atlantis is back out in front of the International Space Station to complete its full victory lap.

The shuttle is beneath the station now, continuing its circle around the complex.

Atlantis is nearing a point directly behind the station in terms of the direction of travel of the two spacecraft around the Earth, which is known as the -V bar.

Distance between the two craft has grown to 625 feet.

Atlantis is reaching a point more than 500 feet directly above the space station.

The flyaround started with the shuttle in front of the station. It takes Atlantis to a point directly above the complex, then behind it, looping below and back out in front. After climbing above the station for a second time, the final separation engine firing will be performed. This burn will send Atlantis away from the vicinity of the station.

Atlantis is 468 feet away from the station.

Pilot Butch Wilmore has begun flying Atlantis in a one-lap flyaround of the station.

The docking mechanism in Atlantis' payload bay has been powered down.

Atlantis currently 370 feet away from the station, continuing to separate at 0.22 feet per second.

The shuttle is headed to a point more than 400 feet away where it will fire thrusters to begin an arc above the station for today's flyaround.

The spacecraft are flying into an orbital sunrise.

Atlantis is 200 feet from the station.

Now 100 feet of separation with Atlantis moving away at 0.2 feet per second.

Atlantis is 65 feet from the station as it slowly backs away.

The undocking occurred on time as the two spacecraft flew 216 miles over the Pacific near Indonesia.

UNDOCKING! Atlantis and the International Space Station are parting company after 6 days, 17 hours and 2 minutes of being linked together high above Earth for a visit that delivered two large pallets of spare parts meant to keep the outpost flying for many years to come.

Atlantis is due home at the Kennedy Space Center on Friday morning at 9:44 a.m. EST.

Hooks and latches are driving open.

Five minutes from undocking. The steering jets on Atlantis are inhibited for the period of physical undocking from the station. The separation occurs when large springs push the two craft apart. Once the shuttle is a couple feet away from the station and the docking devices are clear of one another, pilot Butch Wilmore will fire Atlantis' thrusters to continue the movement away.

The spacecraft are passing into an orbital sunset. The undocking will occur in darkness but the later flyaround of the station by Atlantis will take place in daylight.

The "go" for undocking has been radioed to the shuttle astronauts from Houston.

The docking mechanism in Atlantis' payload bay is being powered up.

The Atlantis astronauts are gearing up to undock from the International Space Station today at 4:53 a.m. EST. Pilot Barry Wilmore will carry out a 360-degree photo-documentation fly-around before departing the area just after 6:30 a.m.

Read our full story.

Both the shuttle and station flight control teams report all systems are ready for the undocking at 4:53 a.m. EST. Atlantis' guidance system was aligned this morning, the entire shuttle/station complex was reoriented to the proper attitude for undocking and the station's giant solar arrays have been positioned to protect them from shuttle thruster plumes.

Throughout the time Atlantis has been docked to the space station, the combined stack flew in an orientation with the Russian segment leading the way. This was meant to keep Atlantis' heat shield out of the direction of travel. But as undocking approaches, the stack has been turned 180 degrees to enable Atlantis to separate and fly out in front of the station, reversing its path to docking a week ago.

The astronauts have been awakened for Flight Day 10, which will see the space shuttle Atlantis leave the International Space Station after its successful docked mission there. The shuttle is scheduled to depart at 4:53 a.m. EST and perform a one-lap flyaround of the complex before soaring away this morning.

The Atlantis astronauts used the shuttle's maneuvering thrusters to boost the International Space Station's altitude by more than a mile early Tuesday, participated in a change-of-command ceremony aboard the lab complex and then bid their station colleagues farewell before closing hatches to set the stage for undocking Wednesday.

Read our full story.

Hatch closure was called complete at 1:12 p.m. EST, completing five days, 23 hours and 44 minutes of joint time between Atlantis and the station crews.

The shuttle and station crews are gathering in the Harmony module for a farewell ceremony. The Atlantis astronauts will be heading back to the orbiter and closing the hatchway in preparation for tomorrow's undocking.

The flight plan calls for the shuttlte crew to spend the night on their own spacecraft with the hatches already shut so that when wakeup occurs tomorrow they can get right into the departure activities. It will be a busy day, not only with undocking just before 5 a.m. EST but also a final round of heat shield inspections tomorrow, setting the stage for pre-landing system testing on Thanksgiving Day and Atlantis' return to Earth on Friday.

A change of command ceremony is underway aboard the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station as Expedition 21 commander Frank De Winne of the European Space Agency hands control of the outpost to Expedition 22 skipper Jeff Williams of NASA.

De Winne was the first European commander of the space station. He will return to Earth in a Soyuz spacecraft next Monday night with Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko and Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk.

The Atlantis astronauts used the shuttle's maneuvering thrusters to boost the International Space Station's altitude by nearly one mile early Tuesday, before a traditional joint crew news conference at 8 a.m. EST and few hours of off duty time.

Read our full story.

Reaction control system thrusters on space shuttle Atlantis are firing to boost the International Space Station into a slightly higher orbit. This 27-minute maneuver is designed to change the station's velocity by 2.5 feet per second and raise the orbit by about nine-tenths of a mile (1.5 km).

The Atlantis astronauts have been awakened for their last full day docked at the International Space Station.

Activities on the agenda for today include a small reboost of the station's orbit by the space shuttle, some off-duty time for the Atlantis crew, then the farewell ceremony and hatch closure in preparation for Wednesday morning's departure.

The latest version of the NASA Television schedule (Rev. L) can be downloaded here.

Read our earlier status center coverage.