Atlantis lands at Edwards Published May 28, 2009 By Senior Airman Julius Delos Reyes 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Team Edwards welcomed home space shuttle Atlantis and its crew May 24 after completing the final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. This is the 53rd space shuttle landing at Edwards after the orbiter was diverted from Kennedy Space Station, Fla., due to bad weather. "It was a very successful landing," said Brig. Gen. Jim Hogue, mobilization assistant to the commander of the Air Force Flight Test Center and director of the Edwards Space Shuttle Contingency Recovery Team. "It was very positive for Edwards. We always like it when they come here." The Atlantis crew completed a 13-day journey of approximately 5.3 million miles in space and performed five space walks on five consecutive days to repair and upgrade the Hubble telescope. This is the 126th shuttle mission. The crew consisted of Scott Altman, commander of the shuttle flight, Gregory C. Johnson, pilot, Megan McArthur, John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino, Andrew Feustel and Michael Good, mission specialists. As the primary backup landing site for the space shuttle, Edwards Space Shuttle Contingency Recovery Team is always prepared for shuttle landings. "There were many players in the team, lots of different people from various organizations," General Hogue said. "We have good communication and teamwork. We spent a couple of hours briefing to make sure everyone knows what to do." Various organizations provided installation and operational support as part of the Space Shuttle Recovery Team. These organizations included the base fire department, 95th Aerospace Medicine Squadron, 95th Communications Group, 95th Security Forces Squadron, 95th Air Base Wing Command Post, Air Force Flight Test Center Safety and 412th Operations Support Squadron. In addition, Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake provided HN-60 helicopter, while Fort Irwin supported with UH-1N Twin Huey and UH-72 Lakota. Civil Air Patrol also provided manpower support. In preparation for landings, Edwards is required to undergo two exercises a year by Human Space Flight to ensure the base's capabilities to support the landing meets NASA's standards. The most recent of those exercises was held July 26, 2008, with approximately 100 personnel from Edwards and NASA. According to General Hogue, these exercises are critical in ensuring the base is always prepared for every shuttle landings. "Just like everything, practice makes perfect," the general said. "We practice things we don't normally do, such as when there is emergency. So far, we've never had to use those skills but you need to practice them so when they do happen, you are ready. Just like when you are flying, you practice flying your instrument approaches and emergency procedures that way you won't make a mistake or stumble through them." Atlantis will be transported approximately 2,500 miles from California to Florida on the back of a modified 747 jumbo jet in seven to 10 days. (NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Public Affairs contributed to the story)