Space Shuttle Atlantis Could Pass Over Palm Harbor Before Landing

Thursday morning, Palm Harbor residents could be awakened by a sonic boom, instead of their alarm clocks.

That's because NASA's backup projected landing path takes the Space Shuttle Atlantis over northern Pinellas County on its way to the shuttle's historic final landing at the Kennedy Space Center.

This backup scenario would go into effect if Florida has bad weather during the scheduled 5:56 a.m. landing. If this happens, the shuttle would make another orbit around the earth and fly over north Pinellas County before landing at 7:32 a.m. It might be possible to hear a sonic boom shortly before the scheduled landing time.

NASA's first choice is to have the shuttle land at 5:56 a.m. This scenario has the shuttle taking a projected landing path over the Naples area.

If, the weather in Florida is really bad, the shuttle could land at Edwards Air Force Base in California. 

NASA has published Atlantis' projected landing tracks on its website.

Other fun Space Shuttle Atlantis links-

NASA TV Live

The latest Space Shuttle Atlantis News from NASA

NASA on Twitter

Real Time Space Shuttle on Google Earth