Astronaut Has Her Return Meal Menu Set

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — After six months of indoor exercise, bagged meals and tepid drinks aboard the international space station, astronaut Peggy Whitson is looking forward to walking off shuttle Endeavour and dining on Caesar salad and steak.

And she plans to top it off with a cold soft drink.

“We don’t have any carbonated drinks up here, so I’m looking forward to that,” Whitson said Tuesday, “and anything with ice in it would be very nice as well.”

Her homecoming, though, may have to wait.

NASA had hoped to beat approaching storms and bring Endeavour back to Earth today. But Mission Control told the crew of seven it might have to remain in orbit until at least Friday, because Thursday’s forecast was grim too.

Endeavour is returning from a one-week space station visit. The shuttle undocked from the space station Monday with Whitson and her two Russian crewmates, Valery Korzun and Sergei Treschev, and left behind a new girder and three men who will remain aboard the orbiting outpost until March.

Whitson, a married 42-year-old biochemist who grew up in Iowa, said she worked out diligently aboard the space station to be in good shape for the return to Earth. Muscles and bones weaken in weightlessness, and space station residents are under orders to exercise one to two hours daily.

“Actually, I gained a little bit of cardiovascular fitness while I was up here,” said Whitson, who has been in orbit since June 5.

Some astronauts also become nauseated and dizzy when they feel gravity again.

NASA has limited experience with women who have had long stretches in space. Only two other American women have lived aboard space stations.