According to NASA, we might get a chance to see Discovery during its decent into Kennedy Space Center on Monday morning.  Sioux City is in the direct path of the orbit 222 landing. 

If NASA decides to go ahead with landing during orbit 222, the shuttle will pass over Sioux City at 7:31 AM, on its way to landing in Florida just a short 17 minutes later.  Experts say we could notice a bright orange streak flying through the sky, followed by a sonic boom a minute or so after the shuttle passes over.  If you plan to look for the shuttle it should first appear in the northwest sky at about 7:28 AM and exit in the southeast sky at 7:33.  The shuttle is expected to be decelerating through mach 18, or going about 13,824 mph.  Whoa!!!  Look fast ‘cuz it’ll be gone before you know it!

It’s not a given that we’ll get to see the spectacular sight though.  If NASA elects to skip re-entry on orbit 222 and try for orbit 223 instead, the flight path shifts south to about Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Plus, NASA has said Monday’s forecast for Florida isn’t the most promising, and clouds could delay deorbit and landing.  Not to mention that clouds over Siouxland could also hinder our view even if the landing is a go.

For more information on the landing check out NASA’s shuttle page:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

I won’t get home until pretty late tonight thanks to the 10:00 news, but I sure plan to have my alarm set early enough to check things out!

Mike Zwier

Posted under Weather Blog