Atlantis touched down at 5:57 a.m. EDT, this morning, ending 30 years of U.S. Space Shuttle Operations. Aboard her, for 200 orbits of Earth, was the payload containing SSEP experiments from student teams across the nation. The video below provides Atlantis’ approach to Kennedy Space Center and landing.
We received confirmation this morning from the Space Life Sciences Lab (SLSL) at Kennedy Space Center that NASA turned over the SSEP payload to ITA at approximately 10:00 am EDT. We also received word that the Lab is providing a LIVE Video feed of the harvesting process for the SSEP experiments. We have therefore quickly set up a page at the SSEP Community Network Hubsite dedicated to the harvesting process. Note there is no audio feed.
Harvesting is to take place over the 24-30 hour period commencing on the receipt of the payload from NASA.
NCESSE’s Dr. Harri Vanhala is with the harvesting team at the SLSL and will provide information on milestone events throughout the day, and we’ll add that information to the Live video page.
Finally, every community taking part in SSEP on STS-135 is participating in history. And we have Harri on the ground at the SLSL. You might want to contact your media outlets to see if they would like to talk to Harri and get firsthand impressions of what is happening. He is available throughout the day. If someone from your community would like to set up an interview with Harri, please Contact NCESSE as soon as possible.
Jump to: Live Video: Harvesting of Experiment Samples page.
At long last our representative from YKLI, Ari Ginian, is at KSC picking up our experiment.
I didn’t think that anything could be as exciting as sending out our experiment for flight until we got to tha launch. Then nothing was as exciting as the launch. Then came the footage of the daily work on Atlantis and the ISS. Then the anticipation was for the landing. What a picture perfect mission. Well I’ve been sitting at the edge of my seat all day waiting with anticipation to hear that our experiment that travelled 200 orbits around Earth and 5,284,862 miles in 12 days was returned to the hands of my co-coordinator at KSC. I’m not going to be able to sleep until I hear he has landed back in JFK to deliver the experiment back to the YKLI lab in Inwood, NY.
The attention is alot of fun, fielding interviews and picture and press requests but nothing is quite as exciting as knowing that the experiment that is now back in our possession has made this long journey.
Congratulations to the entire SSEP STS-135 family. We have all been part of a project that will garner hundreds of memorable moments. But most importantly, as was said many times today by the returning Shuttle Commander, we inspired at least a part of a new generation and enticed them with the alure and significance of space.
Thank you Dr jeff Goldstein for inspiring us to inspire our young scientists. Without you and your dedicated team we would have been armchair astronauts instead of insiders on the action.