Dec. 27, 1999 9:30 p.m.
KSC contact: Bruce Buckingham
The orbiter Discovery landed successfully tonight on the second KSC landing opportunity at 7:01 p.m. EST. The first landing opportunity
was waved-off due to unacceptably high cross winds at the Shuttle Landing Facility. The landing occurred on KSC Shuttle Landing Facility
(SLF) runway 33. On this mission, STS-103, the orbiter and crew traveled over 3,267,000 miles.
End of mission elapsed times are:
Main Gear Touchdown: 7:00:47 p.m. EST (MET: 7 days/23 hours/10 minutes/47 seconds)
Nose Gear Touchdown: 7:00:58 p.m. EST (MET: 7 days/23 hours/10 minutes/58 seconds)
Wheels Stop: 7:01:34 p.m. EST (MET: 7 days/23 hours/11 minutes/34 seconds)
Upon close inspection of the orbiter following touchdown, engineers noted that a black tile was missing on the right inboard elevon, next to
the fuselage. The missing tile measures 9 inches by 41/2 inches. No significant damage to the orbiter was found and the flight crew was
never in any danger due to the missing tile. Initial indications are the tile came off sometime just prior to final approach. Further analysis will
take place over the next several days once the orbiter is in the Orbiter Processing Facility.
Tow to the OPF is scheduled to begin at about 12 midnight tonight. Once in the OPF, the Discovery’s systems will be deserviced and
vehicle safing will be conducted over the next two days. Discovery, as well the other two vehicles at KSC, will be powered-down for the
remainder of the holidays. Normal vehicle processing is scheduled to commence Jan. 4, 2000
The seven-member astronaut crew will spend tonight in Florida. Tomorrow they are scheduled to depart at about 2:30 p.m. from Patrick Air
Force Base for their homes in Houston, TX.
