Shuttle Atlantis on track for final touchdown

Awakened by the rousing strains of Kate Smith's "God Bless America," the Atlantis astronauts rigged the shuttle for its final re-entry to close out three decades of American manned spaceflight. There were no technical problems of any significance and forecasters predicted ideal weather for reentry.

"Good morning, Atlantis," astronaut Shannon Lucid radioed from mission control late Wednesday. "The wakeup music this morning was for the entire crew, and it was also for all the men and women who put their heart and soul into the shuttle program for all of these years."

"Thanks, Shannon, what a classic patriotic song, it's so appropriate for what will likely be the shuttle's final day in orbit," commander Christopher Ferguson replied from orbit. "Thank you to America for supporting this program. We'll see you on the ground in a few short hours, hopefully."

Flying upside down and backward over the Indian Ocean, Ferguson and pilot Douglas "Chunky" Hurley planned to fire the shuttle's twin braking rockets for three minutes and 17 seconds starting at 4:49:04 a.m. EDT, slowing the ship by about 223 miles per hour to drop out of orbit and set up a landing on runway 15 at 5:56 a.m.

A second landing opportunity is available one orbit later, at 7:32:55 a.m. if the weather or some other issue prevents an on-time re-entry. NASA is not staffing its backup landing site at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. If Atlantis doesn't make it home Thursday, the crew will remain in orbit an additional day and land Friday.

But the weather appeared ideal early Thursday and entry Flight Director Tony Ceccacci was optimistic about bringing Atlantis' 33rd and final mission to a close.

Assuming an on-time deorbit rocket firing, the shuttle will plunge into the discernible atmosphere at an altitude of about 75 miles above the southern Pacific Ocean around 5:25 a.m., enduring the hellish heat of re-entry as it descends along a northeasterly trajectory back toward the Kennedy Space Center.

The flight path will carry Atlantis high above Central America, across the Gulf of Mexico just west of Cuba and on to Florida, approaching the Kennedy Space Center from the southwest.

Ferguson plans to take over manual control at an altitude of about 50,000 feet above the Space Coast, guiding the shuttle through a sweeping 240-degree left turn to line up on runway 15 for the shuttle program's final landing.

Endeavour fueled for next-to-last shuttle launch

NASA fueled Endeavour for a Monday morning liftoff on the next-to-last flight of the space shuttle era, confident an electrical problem that grounded the mission more than two weeks ago had been fixed.

The mission commander is Mark Kelly, the astronaut husband of wounded Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who's back for the second launch attempt.

Kelly and his five crewmates waved, gave a thumbs-up and shook their fists in the air as they headed to the launch pad in the pre-dawn hours. Liftoff was slated for 8:56 a.m.

The mood was upbeat this time around. An electrical problem halted the countdown on April 29; NASA said that trouble is behind. Meteorologists also were optimistic.

The astronauts never made it to the launch pad last time.

"Took my last shower for a few weeks," reported astronaut Mike Fincke in a tweet. "The flight docs gave a good look-over. My only issue: too much boyish enthusiasm. (no known cure)."

Added pilot Gregory Johnson in his own Twitter update: "I am really excited and charged up for this mission! Slept great."

Endeavour is bound for the International Space Station one last time before heading to retirement at a Los Angeles museum. The shuttle's experienced, all-male crew will deliver and install a $2 billion particle physics experiment during the 16-day flight, as well as spare station parts.

NASA anticipated a launch day crowd in the hundreds of thousands. Besides the Kennedy Space Center work force, as many as 45,000 guests were expected to jam the launch site. On top of that, law enforcement agencies told NASA to expect up to 500,000 spectators to jam area roads and towns.

Even more people were expected for the first launch attempt, on a convenient Friday afternoon. President Barack Obama and his family even showed up, but had to settle for a tour and a meet-and-greet with the astronauts as well as Giffords.

NASA spent the past two weeks replacing a switch box with a blown fuse as well as a suspect thermostat, and installing new wiring.

Giffords flew in Sunday from Houston, where she's undergoing rehab for a gunshot wound to the head. Her recovery has been so remarkable that doctors approved both trips to Cape Canaveral.

She was shot at a political event in Tucson, Ariz., her hometown., and nearly died.

By Sunday night, recreational vehicles and cars already were lined up along the Banana and Indian rivers. And signs outside area businesses cheered Endeavour on with messages of "godspeed" and "go."

Endeavour is the baby of NASA's shuttle fleet. It was built to replace the Challenger, lost in a 1986 launch accident. Endeavour first flew in 1992 — it ended its first mission 19 years ago Monday.

NASA is retiring its three remaining space shuttles after 30 years to concentrate on interplanetary travel. The space agency wants to hand over the business of getting crews and cargo to the space station, to private companies. At least one company, Space Exploration Technologies Corp., said it can get astronauts to the space station within three years of getting NASA approval.

One final mission remains, by Atlantis in July.

.Several close to Gabrielle Giffords to witness shuttle liftoff

The launch of the space shuttle Endeavour this week will reunite victims, family members and heroes of the Jan. 8 shooting spree near Tucson that killed six people and wounded 13.

Capt. Mark Kelly, the astronaut husband of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, will command the shuttle, which is scheduled to lift off Friday at 12:47 p.m. Arizona time from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a two-week mission to the International Space Station.

Giffords, who was shot in the head during the assassination attempt and has been recovering in Houston, wants to watch her husband blast into space.

"We're really thrilled that the congresswoman will be going, too," said Ron Barber, Giffords' district director, who is still on leave after being shot in the face and leg but will attend the launch. "I've always been an incredible fan of NASA and the space program, even as a young guy growing up. This is the opportunity of a lifetime, really, to see a launch, and to know the commander, and to be with the congresswoman who has made a really good effort to get there."

Her doctors could make a medical announcement today.

At Cape Canaveral, she would be kept away from the thousands of people who crowd the area to watch shuttle launches. She likely would be secluded even from many of NASA's other VIP guests. Among those guests will be President Barack Obama and his family, as well as another of Giffords' wounded staff members and two of the doctors who helped to save their lives.

A complete list of Giffords-related guests was not available, but other Tucson guests include:

- Ross Zimmerman, the father of Gabe Zimmerman, Giffords' 30-year-old community-outreach director who was killed in the mass shooting at the constituent event outside a Safeway grocery store.

- Pam Simon, another Giffords aide who was wounded in the attack, as well as Pia Carusone, her chief of staff, and C.J. Karamargin, her congressional spokesman.

- Drs. Peter Rhee and Randall Friese, who provided emergency medical care to Giffords and other victims at University Medical Center in Tucson.

Zimmerman, who has bonded with Giffords' Tucson staff in the months since the tragedy, said his family was invited to the launch by NASA at Kelly's request. He is paying for the trip himself.

"I've never seen a space shuttle before, so that's exciting," Zimmerman told The Arizona Republic. "But for me, it's really more about getting to spend time with the people from Gabe's office. They were very close to Gabe, and there's a lot of grief that they are dealing with relevant to his loss."

Zimmerman said his son was "extremely supportive" of Kelly's space career and "would be hugely excited about this."

Simon, who was shot twice during the massacre at the constituent event that she and Gabe Zimmerman organized, worked closely with him and was pleased to hear that his father would be at the launch.

"Gabe will be on all of our minds throughout this," Simon said. "We miss him terribly and there will be an empty place in our hearts and in the stands, but Ross has become a member of the Giffords family."

Simon and her husband, Bruce, will be making their second appearance at a NASA launch. In 2008, both were on hand to see the space shuttle Discovery take off as part of a Giffords entourage. Kelly commanded that mission as well. Simon recalled a powerful moment from that event in which Kelly, right before launch, told onlookers over the shuttle radio to "stand by for the greatest show on earth." Then the smoke started to come out, she said.

"Whether Gabby comes or not, I want to be there to support her family and cheer Mark on," Simon said.

Zimmerman and Simon were unsure whether they would be able to visit with Giffords were she to attend. Zimmerman said he would love the opportunity to say "hi" again to Obama, whom he met briefly when the president spoke at a memorial service in Tucson four days after the shooting.

"I have no idea if or when the congresswoman is going to meet with Obama and the first family," Karamargin said. "I'm not even sure if that will happen."

Rhee, UMC's trauma medical director, said he didn't foresee any medical reason that would prevent Giffords from flying from Houston to Florida and attending the takeoff. Early on after the shooting, Rhee discussed the upcoming shuttle mission with Kelly, whom he described as distraught over his wife's brain injury.

Rhee said he was pleased that the space flight is proceeding with Kelly at the helm.

"I had a feeling if he did go on the mission, that there would be a lot of public attention," said Rhee, who is hoping to attend the launch with his 16-year-old son, Michael, a student at Ironwood Ridge High School in Tucson. "I think this will be a good boost for him (Kelly), her (Giffords), the nation, Tucson and everybody."