The reason for choosing the alternative route - the main route of Edwards Air Force Base under renovation
The Space Shuttle Endeavor landed safely a few minutes ago at Edwards Air Force Base in California. It was at 23:25 Israel time, 13:25 local time. The shuttle returned from mission STS-126 to the International Space Station.
Edwards Air Force Base serves as an alternate landing site for the shuttle. The first priority is always to land the shuttles at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Moving the ferries from California to Florida costs over 3 million dollars, however the weather forecast in the central Florida area today and tomorrow was for thunderstorms, heavy rain and strong winds. Under these conditions it is forbidden to land the ferry. Therefore, NASA ordered shuttle commander Chris Ferguson to land in California.
Watching it on Fox network broadcasts, it turns out that the shuttle landed not only at the alternative base but also on an alternative route within it, shorter and narrower than the main route of the field, which is under renovation. However, the commentator who participated in the broadcast claimed that there is no danger to the ferry and that the length and width of the route are sufficient. And indeed as you could see, the landing was smooth. In about an hour, the astronauts will be able to leave the shuttle and return to their daily lives.
By the way, the landing was smooth, and relatively opposed to the clumsiness of performing some of the tasks, such as Losing the tool bag In the hands of astronaut Heidi Piper during a spacewalk.
