Clearwater astronaut unlikely to overfly home

CAPE CANAVERAL - Space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center on Friday, but it's unlikely that anyone in the Bay Area will hear the orbiter's signature sonic booms.

NASA's flight plan for Atlantis has the shuttle flying in from the south on their primary landing attempt -- not over the Bay Area.

The weather for the planned 9:44 a.m. landing is expected to be great. Forecasters don't anticipate anything that would interfere with Atlantis' return.

Should the shuttle have to wait for the second landing attempt Friday for some reason, they would be flying due east towards the Cape, passing right over the Pinellas-Pasco line moments before the 11:19 a.m. landing.

In that case, astronaut Nicole Stott would be flying over her hometown. The Clearwater native is returning after three months aboard the international space station.

Stott wouldn't be able to see Clearwater during such an overflight, though. She'll be sitting on the lower deck of the shuttle, away from any windows.