Space shuttle to land at Edwards AFB in California
Unstable weather on the East Coast will force the space shuttle Discovery to land this evening at California's Edwards Air Force Base instead of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA announced today.
The so-called “deorbit burn” is scheduled to begin at 4:47 p.m. PDT for a 5:53 p.m. landing at Edwards in the Mojave Desert north of Los Angeles, according to details published on NASA’s website.
The second opportunity for leaving orbit will come at 6:23 p.m., ending with a landing at 7:28 p.m.
“The burn lasts three to four minutes, slowing Discovery enough to begin its descent,” according to information published by NASA.
This evening’s scheduled landing would complete a trip to deliver supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. The mission lasted 14 days and covered 5.7 million miles. A strong sonic boom may possibly be heard over a large section of the coast and some inland areas of Southern California upon the shuttle’s arrival, according to NASA.
-- Ann M. Simmons
The sonic "double" boom from the shuttle's arrival hit at 4:48 pm -- a good hard shock.
Posted by: Shawdog | September 11, 2009 at 05:50 PM
They made the early burn. As many people probably noticed.
Posted by: P J Evans | September 11, 2009 at 05:50 PM
morro de sao paulo
Posted by: morro de sao paulo | September 11, 2009 at 05:55 PM
I heard the sonic boom! My wife was in the shower at the time and heard it was well. Really cool. I didn't know what it was until I turned on the TV and saw a live video of the space shuttle landing. When I "Googled" it, this article came up. Thanks!
Posted by: Shane Harris | September 11, 2009 at 05:56 PM
I heard it come in a few minutes ago, it always sounds like a bomb.
Posted by: Lola | September 11, 2009 at 06:00 PM
Yeah! i just heard the big boom it heard like a bullet. ...D...
from .............,CA
Posted by: Darren Campos | September 11, 2009 at 06:01 PM
i heard the sonic boom over el segundo! (im on holiday from the uk,)it was like a shotgun going bang bang,it rattled my hotels windows!!it was fantastic!
Posted by: steve | September 11, 2009 at 07:19 PM
our shower door shattered from the sonic boom. we are in west la. has anyone heard of other damage to property? where do i make a claim - ha!
Posted by: ndgurn | September 14, 2009 at 08:40 AM