Landing the Space Shuttle – A Flying Machine and the Thrill of a Lifetime

Charlie Precourt gives a vivid, technical first-person account of landing Space Shuttle Atlantis, describing a dead-stick descent from Mach 1 and roughly 50,000 feet into a single, no-go-around approach guided by a heading alignment cone (HAC), microwave landing system, and head-up display cues. He walks through precise callouts and aircraft parameters - the CAPCOM predicted touchdown 2,600 feet from the threshold at about 195-200 knots, the shuttle’s lift-to-drag was only about 4.5:1, and the vehicle could lose roughly 12,000 feet for every 90 degrees of turn with descent rates exceeding 12,000 fpm. Key procedural moments are recounted in sequence: autopilot disconnect at 0.95 Mach, instrument flying through cloud break at 8,000 feet, MLS capture, body flap trail, speed brake settings, a 2,000-foot preflare, gear extension around 400 feet, and final flare, drag-chute deployment, and rollout - plus a memorable family-facing crosswind crab that produced a panicked wave from his daughter.

He emphasizes the exhaustive training behind that few-minute finale, notably a modified Gulfstream G‑II used as a flying simulator that replicated the shuttle’s steep 20° dive and high-speed final approach by using landing gear and thrust reversers; pilots logged hundreds to thousands of practice approaches (Precourt had about 1,700) before commanding a landing. He also narrates reentry sensations - Mach 25 at 400,000 feet, sweeping across the continent in minutes - and the tight choreography between commander and mission pilot (Eileen Collins) that turns an extreme aerodynamic challenge into a successful, exhilarating touchdown. Precourt’s credentials as a former NASA chief astronaut, shuttle commander, and test pilot underscore the technical authenticity and personal thrill of the experience.