Shuttle Stop

Space Shuttle Atlantis made a pit-stop, to a parking area near the 433rd Airlift Wing at Lackland AFB, Texas, today (June 2, 2009). The shuttle is on its way home to Kennedy Space Center, Fla., from the landing site at Edwards AFB, Calif. According to Ms. Candrea Thomas, public affairs officer at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Atlantis was returning from "STS Mission 125" where the crew serviced and upgraded the Hubble Space Telescope on the International Space Station. Weather caused a delay and relocation of the landing site. After landing at Edwards AFB, Atlantis was "piggybacked" onto a modified Boeing 747 called a shuttle carrier. The 747 then flew from Edwards to El Paso, Texas and spent the night waiting for severe thunder storms to pass. Next stop was the Lackland AFB flight line. The shuttle carrier took on fuel while parked near the Alamo Wing"s C-5 Galaxy parking ramp. From here, the shuttle plans a stop in Columbus, Ohio and is expected back in Florida early in the evening. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Master Sgt. Collen McGee)