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- On Saturday, December 7, 1996, 6:30 a.m. CST, STS-80 MCC Status Report # 38 reports:
- NASA's final Shuttle mission of 1996 concluded early this morning as Space Shuttle Columbia glided to a 5:49 a.m. central time landing at the Kennedy Space Center. The landing brought to an end a record-setting 18-day, seven million mile journey.
- Weather which had caused two landing waveoffs the past two days was not a player in today's landing decision. A cold front which passed through the KSC area last night produced clear skies for Columbia's return home.
- The STS-80 mission is the longest Shuttle mission ever flown by NASA. The previous mark of 16 days, 21 hours, 48 minutes set in July by the STS-78 crew, was eclipsed late yesterday morning. The official mission duration for STS-80 is 17 days, 15 hours, 53 minutes.
- Following post-landing safing of orbiter systems and removal of time critical experiments, Columbia will be towed from the Shuttle Landing Facility to the orbiter processing facility. About six hours after landing, Commander Ken Cockrell and any available crew members will participate in a post-landing press conference from KSC.
- A decision on when Columbia's crew will return to Ellington Field will be made later this morning.
Return to STS-80 Mission Summary - On Saturday, December 7, 1996, 6:30 a.m. CST, STS-80 MCC Status Report # 38 reports: