BY TIM BONFIELD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
When John Glenn returns to Earth today, his work as a human guinea pig won't be done.
The space shuttle Discovery is expected to land at 12:04 p.m. at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Weather is not expected to be a problem.
Discovery will have two chances to land at the Cape ‹ the first just after noon and a second at 1:45 p.m. Mission managers also plan to activate the shuttle's backup runway at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California.
If conditions aren't right, the shuttle could stay in orbit for three more days.
The only wrinkle in this return mission is Discovery's drag chute door, which fell off during blastoff.
NASA officials believe the chute stayed in its compartment, but they cannot tell whether it was damaged. So they don't plan to use it, said flight director Linda Ham.
That shouldn't be a problem. The fleet made 48 safe landings before NASA ever installed a drag chute.
If the chute somehow deploys itself during the return, the pilot can jettison the entire apparatus.
While the public will be watching today to see if nine days in space puts a wobble in Mr. Glenn's steps, it will take much longer to get real answers to how well the senator's 77-year-old body handled the flight.
"The studies that the senator and the other crew members are participating in are serious science,'' said Dr. Ronald White, associate director of the National Biomedical Space Research Institute.
"Everyone wants to get to him soon, and often.''
