Bad weather may disrupt shuttle landing schedule

May 20, 2009 By SETH BORENSTEIN , AP Science Writer
Bad weather may disrupt shuttle landing schedule (AP)

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In this image from NASA TV the crew of Shuttle Atlantis hold a news conference on the flight deck Wednesday, May 20, 2009 . Front from left, Gregory Johnson, Scott Altman and Megan McArthur. Rear from left, Andrew Feustel, John Grunsfeld, Michael Massimino and Michael Good. (AP Photo/NASA TV)

(AP) -- Astronauts are conserving power on the space shuttle Atlantis because bad weather in Florida may keep them in orbit longer than planned.

Storms could delay a scheduled Friday landing at Kennedy Space Center. NASA can try again in Florida on Saturday and if that doesn't work, they have several options for a Sunday landing.

Astronauts have the day off Wednesday. They told reporters during a news conference that they were looking forward to coming home after the 11-day mission.

They said their upgrades of the 19-year-old showed how important it is to have humans and machines work together in space.

Later Wednesday, President Barack Obama will make a private phone call to Atlantis.

©2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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