Flawless touchdowns have come to seem routine since the inaugural shuttle flight in April 1981 but they are not a given.
Photograph by: Joe Skipper, Reuters
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - I have watched as space shuttles nosedive toward the runway more than 100 times, knowing that there are no engines available to carry them back into the sky if something goes wrong.
When the ships glide home in a quiet countermove to their thunderous liftoff, it is not without drama.
Flawless touchdowns have come to seem routine since the inaugural shuttle flight in April 1981 but they are not a given. Landing safely is an overarching goal as NASA prepares for its final space shuttle mission - and that is why Atlantis commander Chris Ferguson recently buckled in for his 1,400th or so practice run in a Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA).
I recently was among three reporters invited aboard the modified Gulfstream business jet that was a stand-in in for the shuttle on
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