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Space Shuttle Columbia completes its mission
Columbia’s astronauts glided to a smooth landing at the Kennedy Space Center July 27, wrapping up their five-day mission to deploy the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. Commander Eileen Collins flew Columbia to a textbook landing at the Cape’s landing facility, swooping out of darkness to complete a mission spanning about 1.8 million miles. Collins was selected for astronaut training while attending the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base in 1990, the same year she graduated. Pilot Jeff Ashby, Flight Engineer Steve Hawley and Mission Specialist Cady Coleman joined Collins on the flight deck for entry and landing. Mission Specialist Michel Tognini of the French Space Agency was seated alone down in the middeck. It was the 19th consecutive Shuttle landing at the Florida spaceport and the 12th night landing in Shuttle program history. Left behind in orbit is the Chandra Observatory, which was released from Columbia’s cargo bay. Telescope controllers at the Chandra Operations Control Center in Cambridge, Mass. say the observatory is in excellent shape. |
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Responsible NASA Official: John Childress For questions, contact: Dryden Web Group Page Curator:WD-Team Modified: August 18, 1999 |
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