The Nation - News from Dec. 14, 1988
The space shuttle Atlantis, its right fuselage in need of repairs, returned to its launch site atop a Boeing 747 jetliner. Atlantis landed a week ago at Edwards Air Force Base in California after completing a four-day classified spaceflight. En route back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the jetliner made overnight stops at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base near Tucson and at Kelly Air Force Base near San Antonio. When Atlantis returned to Earth, NASA found it had suffered heavier than expected damage to the heat-resistant tiles on its right fuselage. Officials estimated that between 125 and 175 of the tiles will have to be replaced. Engineers suspect something struck that area of the shuttle during launch.
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