Shuttle Given Tighter Landing Restrictions

National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials, concerned about a failed power unit, imposed tighter landing restrictions on shuttle Atlantis for its return from its mission to Russian space station Mir. Flight controllers would look for light winds and high cloud ceilings for Thursday’s landing, said Lee Briscoe, NASA mission operations director at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The shuttle is due to land at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. The restrictions, however, may divert Atlantis to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., where weather conditions are usually better.