Satellite Deployed; Sources Say Shuttle Will Land Sunday
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — A $500-million spy satellite was launched from the space shuttle on Thursday and Atlantis’ astronauts streaked toward a Sunday landing, NASA sources said.
The sources said the 37,300-pound satellite was ejected from the shuttle’s cargo bay early Thursday.
Atlantis is scheduled to land at 10:34 a.m. Sunday at Edwards Air Force Base in California, said the sources, who requested anonymity.
The shuttle was launched in darkness early Wednesday, and progress of the mission has been cloaked under a Pentagon-imposed news blackout.
A brief announcement Thursday by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said Atlantis’ “expected landing day” was Sunday, but the agency did not give a time or mention the satellite.
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