Atlantis, crew land safely in California

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, California: Space Shuttle Atlantis and its crew of seven returned to Earth yesterday, ending their successful Hubble Space Telescope repair mission in California after stormy weather prevented a return to NASA's Florida home base.

Mission Control waited as long as possible for the weather to improve before finally giving up and directing commander Scott Altman and his crew to the Mojave Desert.

Atlantis swooped through a clear morning sky and touched down on the runway at Edwards Air Force Base.