Asia-Pacific
US space shuttle Endeavour back from mission
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-02-22 14:22
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 The space shuttle Endeavour returns to the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, February 21, 2010. Endeavour's landing completes a 14-day mission to the International Space Station. [Photo/Agencies]  |
WASHINGTON: Space shuttle Endeavour landed safely at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on Sunday after concluding a two-week flight to the International Space Station.
"Welcome home and congratulations on completing an outstanding mission," Mission Control radioed.
"It's great to be home. It was a great adventure," commander George Zamka said.
But as the space shuttle was descending, rain stopped and the sky cleared.
This was the second time that Endeavour made a nighttime landing since 2008. Out of 130 flights, tonight's was the 23rd space shuttle landing in darkness.
With six astronauts on board, Endeavour was launched February 8 on the STS-130 mission to the space station. During the mission, astronauts installed the Tranquility node and a cupola with seven windows that provide a panoramic view of Earth, celestial objects and visiting spacecraft.
Tranquility and its cupola are the final major US portions of the station. The two new compartments were supplied by the European Space Agency. With the 400-million-dollar new equipment added, the station now is 98 percent complete by volume, 90 percent by mass. Four shuttle visits remain to haul up supplies, spare parts and science experiments.
Mission Control commended the astronauts for completing "a docked mission of Olympic proportions."
Four shuttle flights remain to continue the mission of stocking the space station with more experiments, spare parts and supplies. Discovery will make the next trip in early April.
NASA plans on wrapping up the shuttle program this fall, after which the space station will be supplied by craft from Russia, Europe and Japan.
