Space shuttle Atlantis has landed at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The STS-129 mission that included three spacewalks and more than six days at the International Space Station has been completed.

The seven-astronaut STS-129 crew was awakened at 1:28 a.m. EST with the song “Home Sweet Home” by Motley Crue.

At 8:37 a.m. EST, space shuttle Atlantis performed the deorbit burn, setting it on a course to return to Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The maneuver occurred while Atlantis was about 220 miles above Indonesia. Entry interface, the point at which Atlantis begins entering the Earth’s atmosphere, will occur at 9:12 a.m. The first roll reversal to slow the spacecraft will take place at 9:28 a.m. and Merritt Island radar tracking systems will acquire the shuttle at 9:31 a.m.

Atlantis will crossed the Florida coast south of Bonita Springs and passed north of Lake Okeechobee, triggering dual sonic booms at about 9:40 a.m. as it slows to subsonic speeds. Commander Charlie Hobaugh will lined up Atlantis with Kennedy’s southeast to northwest runway 33. Touchdown is was at 9:44 a.m.

Atlantis will be bringing home Mission Specialist and former Expedition 20 and 21 Flight Engineer Nicole Stott, who spent 87 days on the International Space Station. Her return brings to an end nearly a decade of space shuttle use to rotate crew on the station.

Atlantis is winding up a mission that included three spacewalks and more than six days at the International Space Station. The orbiter took 14 tons of cargo in its payload bay, including two large carriers with spare parts to sustain station operations after the shuttles are retired next year, to the orbiting laboratory.

Source and Image: NASA