CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Space shuttle Discovery’s crew of seven astronauts ended their 15-day, 6 million-mile journey Tuesday with a picture-perfect landing at Kennedy Space Center.
“What a great mission. We enjoyed it We’re glad that the International Space Station is stocked up,” commander Alan Poindexter radioed to Mission Control after landing on runway 33 at Kennedy Space Center’s shuttle landing facility.
The crew had to spend an extra day in orbit because rain and cloudy skies on Monday prevented them from wrapping up their resupply mission to the space station. Their return was nearly spoiled for a second consecutive day when lingering fog forced flight controllers to pass on Discovery’s first landing opportunity early Tuesday.
But the sun appeared on the Space Coast just before 8 a.m. EDT, clearing the way for NASA to give Poindexter the green light to come home.
The shuttle descended across the American heartland on its trip back to the Cape. It entered the continent near Vancouver, B.C., then flew southeast across northeast Washington, Montana, central Wyoming, northeast Colorado, southwest Kansas and Oklahoma. It passed north of Little Rock, Ark.; over Oxford, Miss; near Montgomery, Ala.; south of Columbus, Ga.; and, finally, over Florida east of Gainesville.
It was the first time since 2007 that a space shuttle flew over so much of the United States. NASA typically prefers bringing a shuttle home from the southwest, over the South Pacific, Central America and the Gulf of Mexico. That way, there’s minimal flying over heavily populated areas.
In 2003, space shuttle Columbia broke up over Texas during re-entry, though no one on the ground was injured by the falling wreckage.
Discovery’s crew dropped off more than seven tons of supplies and equipment before leaving the space station Saturday. The main delivery was a tank full of ammonia coolant, which took three spacewalks to hook up. There had been a snag when a pressure valve wouldn’t open after the installation of the ammonia tank and a fourth spacewalk was considered, but it was deemed unnecessary by engineers.
The mission made history with the presence of four women in space: three on the shuttle and one at the station. Mission specialists Stephanie Wilson, Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger and Japanese astronaut Naoko Yamazaki were part of Discovery’s seven-member crew. NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson was already at the space station.
Metcalf-Lindenburger is a former science teacher at Hudson’s Bay High School. Her husband, Jason Metcalf-Lindenburger, taught social studies at McLoughlin Middle School.
Only three shuttle missions remain before NASA retires the fleet. Atlantis will carry up a small Russian lab and other equipment next month. Liftoff is targeted for May 14.
