The shuttle Atlantis dropped out of a crystal clear Florida sky and glided to a "picture-perfect" landing at the Kennedy Space Center Friday to close out a successful 11-day space station mission, bringing astronaut Nicole Stott back to Earth after 91 days in space.

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Atlantis is just outside Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1, the craft's space-age garage at Kennedy Space Center.

Workers will perform post-flight work at the hangar and begin readying the shuttle for its final spaceflight that's scheduled for launch in May to deliver Russia's Mini-Research Module 1. The MRM 1 will be attached to the International Space Station's Zarya module and serve as a new docking compartment.

The convoy has made the turn off the runway and onto the towway.

The tow of space shuttle Atlantis from the runway to its Orbiter Processing Facility has begun.

A gallery of landing photos taken from the Vehicle Assembly Building roof can be viewed here.

"The orbiter looks great," shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach says, adding just a couple of minor tile dings were noted in the post-landing inspections at the runway.

A welcome ceremony for the astronauts will be held Monday in Houston. The public is invited to attend the 4 p.m. CST event at Ellington Field's NASA Hangar 990.

The astronauts are heading for crew quarters to be reunited with their family members and have some dinner.

The towing of Atlantis from the runway to its processing hangar is expected to begin within the next couple hours.

Six of the astronauts, all but returning long-duration space station astronaut Nicole Stott, have left the Crew Transport Vehicle for the traditional walkaround inspection of the space shuttle on the runway. There to greet them is NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, the shuttle launch director, the lead shuttle and station flight directors and others.

Entry flight director Bryan Lunney in Mission Control has formally handed over the space shuttle to the Kennedy Space Center ground operations team.

All seven astronauts have exited the space shuttle. They are inside the Crew Transport Vehicle -- a modified airport "People Mover" -- that pulled up to the side hatch for the astronauts to enter. The CTV features beds and comfortable seats for the astronauts to receive medical checks after returning to Earth's gravity from the weightless environment of space.

Today's landing has been added to our comprehensive STS-129 mission archive for Spaceflight Now+Plus subscribers:

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VIDEO: SHUTTLE ATLANTIS LANDS SAFELY PLAY | HI-DEF
MORE: STS-129 VIDEO COVERAGE

The mobile steps have been positioned next to Atlantis' hatch along with the Crew Transport Vehicle for the astronauts to enter.

The rest of the landing convoy team is moving down the runway. Soon the members will greet Atlantis and begin the post-flight deservicing work.

The astronauts were just given permission to remove their entry spacesuits.

Auxiliary Power Units have been deactivated by pilot Butch Wilmore. The three APUs provided the pressure needed to power shuttle's hydraulic systems that moved the wing flaps and rudder/speed brake, dropped the landing gear and turned the nose wheel during today's entry and landing.

The main engine nozzles have been repositioned, or gimbaled, to the "rain drain" orientation. That's the last task for the hydraulics following touchdown, so Atlantis' three Auxiliary Power Units can be shut down now.

On the runway, technicians are using instruments to "sniff" the shuttle's exterior to check for any hazardous vapors.

The pyrotechnics for the crew module hatch, landing gear and drag chute have been safed, commander Hobaugh reports.

The orbiter's body flap has been set.

Here are the landing times in Eastern Standard Time and Mission Elapsed Time:

Main Gear Touchdown
9:44:23 a.m. EST
MET: 10 days, 19 hours, 16 minutes, 13 seconds

Nose Gear Touchdown
9:44:36 a.m. EST
MET: 10 days, 19 hours, 16 minutes, 26 seconds

Wheels Stop
9:45:05 a.m. EST
MET: 10 days, 19 hours, 16 minutes, 55 seconds

The external tank umbilical doors on the shuttle's belly have been opened.

The crew has established radio contact with the landing convoy and began the post-landing procedures on Atlantis.

WHEELS STOP. Space shuttle Atlantis has returned from its 31st and penultimate voyage, one that delivered nearly 15 tons of spare parts and supplies meant to fortify the future of the International Space Station.

Atlantis is back home at the Kennedy Space Center some 11 days after launching from the Florida spaceport on a trip that spanned 4,490,138 statute miles.

TOUCHDOWN! Main gear touchdown. Pilot Butch Wilmore is putting out the drag chute as commander Charlie Hobaugh brings the nose gear to the surface of Runway 33.

Pilot Butch Wilmore is deploying the landing gear. Standing by for touchdown at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility.

Wings are level on final approach.

The shuttle descending at a rate seven times steeper than that of a commercial airliner.

Field in sight. Commander Charlie Hobaugh reports he can see the runway as he guides Atlantis to landing.

Speed 355 mph, altitude 16,000 feet.

About 90 degrees left in the turn.

The twin sonic booms have rumbled across the Kennedy Space Center area, announcing the shuttle's arrival.

The shuttle is in the Heading Alignment Cylinder, an imaginary circle to align with Runway 33. Commander Charlie Hobaugh is piloting Atlantis through a 300-degree right-overhead turn to loop around for landing on the southeast to northwest runway.

The astronauts have taken manual control of Atlantis.

Descending through 50,000 feet.

The crew has been given a "go" for normal deployment of the drag chute after main gear touchdown. The shuttle will face a headwind of 12 peaking to 18 knots.

"Couldn't have picked a clearer day," commander Hobaugh says.

Altitude is 86,000 feet in altitude.

Seven minutes to go. Air data probes are being deployed from the shuttle's nose to feed air speed, altitude and angle of attack information to the computers for navigation.

Long-range tracking cameras have spotted Atlantis as the shuttle flies up the state of Florida.

Atlantis is 130,000 feet in altitude over the coast of Florida, traveling at 4,000 mph.

Ten minutes from landing. Atlantis has reached southwest Florida near the Naples area. The spacecraft will continue the S-turns as the track goes west of Lake Okeechobee and up through Central Florida.

The TACAN navigation units aboard Atlantis are now receiving data from beacons located at the landing site to provide range, elevation and directional information. The space shuttle also receives data from the Global Positioning System satellites for navigation.

Now 12 minutes from touchdown. Mission Control computes Atlantis will land 2,400 feet down the runway at 195 knots.

Atlantis is 181,000 feet in altitude, traveling at 9,000 mph.

The space shuttle is skirting along the eastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula and will soon pass between Cancun and the western tip of Cuba before crossing the Gulf of Mexico.

Atlantis is 212,000 feet in altitude and traveling at Mach 19.

The space shuttle is approaching landfall over Central America in the skies above El Salvador.

Some 20 minutes to landing. Atlantis is 233,000 feet in altitude, traveling at Mach 22.

The shuttle is streaking over the Pacific Ocean west of the Galapagos Islands.

Atlantis is 240,000 feet in altitude and traveling at 16,000 mph.

The shuttle is in the midst of the four banks to scrub off speed as it descends into the atmosphere. These turns basically remove the energy vehicle built up during launch.

Time to touchdown now 25 minutes. Atlantis remains on course as it continues to glide over the Pacific Ocean.

Atlantis is 48 miles in altitude, traveling at 16,000 mph.

Now 30 minutes from touchdown as Atlantis plunges into the upper atmosphere. The path will take the spacecraft over the Pacific before reaching Central America. The trajectory continues soaring high over the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico before reaching the southwestern coast of Florida.

ENTRY INTERFACE. Atlantis' thermal protection system is 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 at Mach 25 with its nose elevated 40 degrees, wings level, at an altitude of 400,000 feet over the southern Pacific Ocean.

Touchdown remains set for 9:44 a.m. EST in Florida.

Now 35 minutes left to go. This will be the 72nd shuttle landing at Kennedy Space Center.

The Florida spaceport's Shuttle Landing Facility was built in 1975. The concrete strip is 300 feet wide and 15,000 feet long with 1,000-foot overruns at each end. The runway is located about three miles northwest of the 525-foot tall Vehicle Assembly Building.

Atlantis is targeting Runway 33, which is the southeast to northwest approach. The shuttle will make a 300-degree right-overhead turn to align with the runway.

Now 40 minutes to touchdown. Onboard guidance has maneuvered Atlantis from its heads-down, tail-forward position needed for the deorbit burn to the reentry configuration of heads-up and nose-forward. The nose will be pitched upward 40 degrees. In this new position, the black tiles on the shuttle's belly and the reinforced carbon-carbon panels on the wing leading edges and nose cap will shield the spacecraft during the fiery plunge through the Earth's atmosphere with temperatures reaching well over 2,000 degrees F. Atlantis will begin interacting with the upper fringes of the atmosphere above the South Pacific at 9:12 a.m. EST.

All three Auxiliary Power Units are up and running now.

Now 50 minutes from touchdown at the Kennedy Space Center to conclude Atlantis' 10-day, 19-hour, 16-minute flight.

Atlantis has flown over western Australia, about to pass above the Southern Ocean now.

At touchdown, the orbiter Atlantis will weigh 205,168 pounds, NASA projects.

Sixty minutes to touchdown. Atlantis is maneuvering to the orientation for entry. The shuttle will hit the upper atmosphere at 9:12 a.m.

DEORBIT BURN COMPLETE. Atlantis has successfully completed the deorbit burn for the trip back home. Landing is scheduled for 9:44 a.m. EST at the Cape to conclude this latest shuttle mission to the space station.

Both engines continue to fire, each producing about 6,000 pounds of thrust.

DEORBIT BURN IGNITION. Flying upside down and backwards more than 200 miles above the Indian Ocean just west of Indonesia, Atlantis has begun the deorbit burn. The firing of the twin Orbital Maneuvering System engines on the tail of the shuttle will last two minutes and 47 seconds, slowing the craft by 211 mph to slip from orbit. The retro-burn will send Atlantis to Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a touchdown at 9:44 a.m. EST.

Atlantis is in the proper configuration for the deorbit burn, Mission Control has confirmed for the crew.

Pilot Butch Wilmore has activated one of three Auxiliary Power Units in advance of the burn, now three 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 needs only a single unit to make a safe landing.

Now 15 minutes from the time in which Atlantis will ignite its braking engines to begin the trip back home.

As Atlantis flies high over Europe, the shuttle is being oriented to the tail-first direction for the upcoming deorbit burn.

GO FOR THE DEORBIT BURN! Clear skies at the Kennedy Space Center await the space shuttle this morning, allowing entry flight director Bryan Lunney in Mission Control to give final approval for Atlantis to perform the deorbit burn at 8:37:10 a.m. EST that will commit the spacecraft for the journey back to Earth.

Touchdown in Florida on Runway 33 is set for 9:44 a.m. EST, completing a mission that hauled up two large pallets of spare parts for future use at the International Space Station.

Entry flight director Bryan Lunney has polled his team in Mission Control and all systems remain "go" for deorbit burn.

Atlantis is crossing the Atlantic Ocean for what should be the final time on STS-129.

The steering check of the braking engines is being performed.

Atlantis has crossed the equator over South America to begin orbit 171.

About 25 minutes remain until entry flight director Bryan Lunney will have to decide whether Atlantis can perform the deorbit burn that commits the shuttle for the glide back to Earth for the day's first landing opportunity. There is a backup landing option available one orbit later, if there's some reason to wave off the 8:37 a.m. deorbit ignition time.

The weather situation at Kennedy Space Center remains favorable for a space shuttle landing this morning.

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The crew has been given a "go" to start the "fluid loading" protocol. That involves drinking large amounts of liquids and salt tablets to assist in the readaptation to Earth's gravity. Water, chicken consomme, orange, lemon-lime and tropical punch drinks are on the menu for the astronauts to pick from.

This "go" from Mission Control is seen as a good step toward an on time landing. Houston typically doesn't force the crew into fluid loading unless deorbit looks realistic.

At this point in the deorbit preparation timeline, commander Charlie Hobaugh and pilot Butch Wilmore are scheduled to be climbing into their bright orange launch and entry spacesuit. They'll be strapping into the flight deck's left-forward and right-forward seats shortly while the rest of the crewmembers don their suits.

Now two-and-a-half hours away from the scheduled landing time.

The latest data from Mission Control shows the upcoming deorbit burn ignition time will be 8:37:10 a.m. EST. The twin braking rockets will fire for two minutes and 47 seconds, slowing the shuttle enough to slip out of orbit. Atlantis will target Kennedy Space Center's Runway 33 with a right-overhead turn of 300 degrees to align with the concrete landing strip.

Meteorologists in Mission Control remain optimistic that the weather will be just fine for Atlantis' landing today. Although the forecast calls for some brisk northwesterly winds, that direction would be blowing down the runway and not violate the 25-knot headwind limit.

The astronauts are in the process of deactivating Atlantis' navigational star trackers and closing the associated doors on the ship's nose.

The onboard software switch has been completed.

Mission Control is giving the crew a "go" to transition the onboard computers from the OPS-2 software used during the shuttle's stay in space to OPS-3, which is the software package that governs entry and landing.

And Atlantis will soon maneuver into a new orientation in space to improve the communications link with NASA's orbiting data relay satellite network.

Space shuttle Atlantis' clam-shell payload bay doors have been closed and locked in preparation for today's descent into Earth's atmosphere and landing at Kennedy Space Center. The deorbit burn is scheduled for about 8:37:10 a.m., with touchdown at 9:44 a.m. EST.

The "go" has been radioed to the crew for payload bay door closing.

The crew completed the work to bypass the shuttle's radiators on the insides of the payload bay doors and checked out of the ship's flash evaporator cooling system for entry.

CAPCOM Chris Ferguson just gave an update to commander Charlie Hobaugh. He reported that former astronaut Brent Jett has completed an initial weather reconnaissance run in a T-38 training jet and conditions at Kennedy Space Center remain favorable and as forecast.

The astronauts are proceeding through the deorbit preparation timeline. Early steps include verifying the correct positions of switches in the cockpit and re-installing the mission specialists' seats.

Commander Charlie Hobaugh and his crew are putting away their flight plan books, having completed all of the tasks for the mission. They're now moving into the deorbit preparation checklist to ready the spacecraft for re-entry.

Aboard space shuttle Atlantis, the crew is performing an alignment of the inertial measurement units in the craft's guidance system and powering up a block of electronics that had been turned off during quiet periods of the mission to save energy.

The latest weather forecast from the Spaceflight Meteorology Group for today's 9:44 a.m. EST landing at the Kennedy Space Center is calling for clear skies, seven miles of visibility and a northwesterly wind from 320 degrees -- essentially down the runway -- of 14 peaking to 21 knots.

Space shuttle Atlantis will be heading back to Earth today and the seven astronauts just received a musical wakeup call -- "Home Sweet Home" by Motley Crue -- from Mission Control to get the day started.

The crew has a couple of hours to eat breakfast and go about their morning routine before beginning the deorbit preparation timeline at 4:43 a.m. EST.

The ship's 60-foot-long payload bay doors are scheduled to be closed at 5:56 a.m., followed by the transition of onboard computers to the software for entry and the crew donning its spacesuits.

A final decision whether to land on time will come from Houston around 8:15 a.m., leading to ignition of Atlantis' braking rockets at 8:36 a.m. to start the trek home. The shuttle would hit the upper atmosphere at 9:12 a.m.

Landing on Runway 33 at the Kennedy Space Center is scheduled for 9:44 a.m. EST.

If the weather or a problem forces entry flight director Bryan Lunney to scrub the day's first re-entry opportunity and keep Atlantis in space, there is a backup landing option available one orbit later. That would begin with a deorbit engine firing at 10:12 a.m. and touchdown in Florida at 11:19 a.m. EST.

NASA is not calling up support from the alternate landing site at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert of California today or Saturday. The space agency wants to get Atlantis back to the Florida spaceport, and the spacecraft has enough consumables and supplies to remain aloft a few extra days if necessary.

Watch this page for continuing updates throughout the day as the astronauts prepare for the return to Earth.

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With good weather expected in Florida, the Atlantis astronauts packed up for landing Friday at the Kennedy Space Center. NASA's Mission Management Team, meanwhile, completed a review of heat shield inspection data collected Wednesday and concluded the shuttle was in good shape and ready for the trip home.

Read our full story.

The Ku-band antenna used for high data rate communications during the mission has been retracted and stowed in the payload bay, ending live television from Atlantis for the remainder of the flight.

The astronauts also continue work inside the crew module to pack up equipment and prepare for tomorrow's landing.

Yesterday's inspections of Atlantis' wing leading edges and nose cap have cleared the space shuttle's heat shield for re-entry. The crew performed the inspections to look for any space debris impacts that could have occurred during the flight. Officials have reviewed the analysis and given Atlantis a clean bill of health.

Checks of the communications network is underway with the Merritt Island tracking station near Kennedy Space Center as the shuttle flies over Florida.

The Atlantis astronauts worked through a busy Thanksgiving in space Thursday, testing the shuttle's re-entry systems and packing up for landing Friday at the Kennedy Space Center to close out a successful space station delivery mission.

Read our full story.

The 44 thrusters on Atlantis' nose and tail have been systematically fired as part of normal day-before-landing checks. Mission Control says the hot-fire test was normal with no problems experienced.

The 44 thrusters on Atlantis' nose and tail have been systematically fired as part of normal day-before-landing checks. Mission Control says the hot-fire test was normal with no problems experienced.

The crew is beginning the reaction control system hot-fire. The 38 primary and 6 vernier thrusters on the nose and tail of the shuttle will be pulsed twice as part of the continuing entry and landing checks.

The astronauts have checked out the onboard suite of sensors and navigation devices that will be used during tomorrow's homecoming of Atlantis.

Over the past couple of minutes, the crew started up one of the Auxiliary Power Units for the orbiter's hydraulics and moved the seven aerosurfaces through a planned test pattern. Mission Control reports the test went well.

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

The Atlantis astronauts have been been awakened for their final full day in space on the STS-129 mission.

Today will be spent packing the crew cabin for tomorrow's return to Earth, plus testing the shuttle's thrusters and checking the various flight controls for the landing.

Read our earlier status center coverage.