Space Shuttle Atlantis Concludes Mission STS-104 With Kennedy Space Center Landing

By Cliff Lethbridge

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL (July 24, 2001) - Space Shuttle Atlantis concluded Mission STS-104 with a landing on Runway 15 at 11:39 p.m. EDT today. This marked the 55th Space Shuttle landing at the Kennedy Space Center, the 18th night landing in the history of the Space Shuttle program and the 13th night landing of a Space Shuttle at the Kennedy Space Center. Landing occurred during the 200th orbit of the mission. Unofficial estimated flight distance was 5.3 million miles and unofficial mission duration was 12 days, 18 hours, 36 minutes, 39 seconds. STS-104 was extended two days. An extension of one day was granted to allow troubleshooting of air and coolant leaks from the Quest Joint Airlock Module, which was installed on the International Space Station (ISS) during the mission. An additional one-day extension was caused by rain showers within the 30-mile limit of the Kennedy Space Center, which prevented Atlantis from landing just after midnight today. Today's landing occurred on the first opportunity and coincided with the 51st anniversary of the launch of Bumper #8, the first rocket launched from Cape Canaveral.

For More Information:

NASA STS-104 Mission Press Kit

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