SciBuff.com

Space Shuttle Atlantis, mounted atop NASA’s Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), a modified Boeing 747-100, finished its 2-day-long 4,000-km cross-country journey by landing at 22:53 UTC in NASA Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) about 3.2km northwest of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida.

The shuttle’s piggyback ride started yesterday, at 15:03 UTC at Edwards Air Force Base in California and took the shuttle to the Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, the Biggs Army Airfield in El Paso, Texas and the Columbus Air Force Base in Columbus, Mississippi.

The Flight Track Map of the SCA between the Columbus Air Force Base in Columbus, Mississippi and the NASA Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida - Source: FlightAware.com

Reporters and enthusiasts awaiting the shuttle "landing" - Source: NASA TV

Atlantis flying around Endeavour at Pad 39A - Source: NASA TV

The SCA with Atlantis flies over the runway before a 180 U-turn - Source: NASA TV

The SCA descends towards the runway - Source: NASA TV

Touchdown - Source: NASA TV

For the full story of Atlantis’ flight home visit NASA Shuttle Ferry Flights website.

The next Atlantis mission is planned for November 2009 to the International Space Station (ISS). It will be 160th American manned space flight and 31st flight of the space shuttle Atlantis.