Space shuttle Discovery touched down at Edwards Air Force Base In California on Friday to end a 14-day mission to the International Space Station dedicated to outfitting the orbital laboratory with new experiments, science equipment, supplies and other gear the six people living on the station will need. Unacceptable weather conditions at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida Thursday and Friday forced the detour by Discovery to the West Coast.
"We're very happy to be back on land here in California," STS-128 Commander Rick "C.J." Sturckow said after the astronauts got off the shuttle and surveyed their craft. "It was a great mission and we just want to thank everybody for their support."
The crew of seven astronauts, including former station resident Tim Kopra, will fly to their training base at Johnson Space Center in Houston on Saturday. Meanwhile, technicians at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, adjacent to Edwards, will take about a week to get the spacecraft ready for its cross-country flight back to Kennedy atop a modified 747.
"We're very happy to be back on land here in California," STS-128 Commander Rick "C.J." Sturckow said after the astronauts got off the shuttle and surveyed their craft. "It was a great mission and we just want to thank everybody for their support."
The crew of seven astronauts, including former station resident Tim Kopra, will fly to their training base at Johnson Space Center in Houston on Saturday. Meanwhile, technicians at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, adjacent to Edwards, will take about a week to get the spacecraft ready for its cross-country flight back to Kennedy atop a modified 747.
