Shuttle Update

SECOND CHANCE FOR SHUTTLE SIGHTINGS: Monday’s planned landing of space shuttle Discovery was waved off because of bad weather in Florida. The postponement sets the stage for another try on Tuesday. Once again, Discovery is slated to reenter Earth’s atmosphere over the continental United States, and many sky watchers–especially in the northwestern USA and neighboring Canada–could witness a beautiful pre-dawn reentry. The exact ground track depends on weather and whether mission controllers decide to send Discovery to land in Florida or California. Nominally, Discovery would pass diagonally across the country, passing over, e.g., Minneapolis, Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Jacksonville en route to a 7:34 am EDT (6:34 a.m. Alabama time) landing at the Kennedy Space Center. On the other hand, a redirect to Edwards Air Force Base would strongly favor observers in California. Please check https://spaceweather.com for more information and updates as the re-entry time approaches.