[sarex] FINAL STS-115 REPORT

[Arthur Rowe]

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468

NASA NEWS

9 a.m. CDT Thursday, Sept. 21, 2006
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

	09.21.06
STATUS REPORT: STS-115-24

STS-115 MCC Status Report #24

After resuming the expansion of humanity's only outpost in space, Space 
Shuttle Atlantis came home this morning, gliding to a perfect pre-dawn 
landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Atlantis touched down on Runway 33 of Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility 
at 5:21:30 a.m. CDT. Atlantis had spent 11 days, 19 hours and six 
minutes in flight.

The landing on runway 33 marked the 21st night landing for the shuttle 
and the 15th night landing in Florida. Atlantis' nose gear touched down 
at 5:21:36 a.m. CDT and the shuttle's wheels came to a stop at 5:22:16 
a.m. CDT.

Atlantis' crew included Commander Brent Jett, Pilot Chris Ferguson and 
mission specialists Dan Burbank, Joe Tanner, Heidemarie 
Stefanyshyn-Piper and Canadian astronaut Steve MacLean. They will return 
to Houston on Friday. A welcoming ceremony for the crew's return to 
Houston is planned at noon CDT Friday at NASA Hangar 990 at Ellington 
Field.

During Atlantis' STS-115 mission, the first new component was attached 
to the International Space Station in almost four years. The shuttle 
crew worked with the station crew to attach a 17.5-ton, bus-sized 
section to the station's truss structure and unfold its new 240-foot 
solar wings, the second such set on the complex. The new solar arrays 
eventually will more than double the amount of power available for the 
station, setting the stage for additional solar arrays and laboratories 
to come. The shuttle crew completed three spacewalks to prepare the new 
arrays and associated electronics for use. The next shuttle mission, 
targeted for December, will rewire the station to bring the new power 
supplies online.

This is the final STS-115 mission status report.