Photo: NASA/Tom Tschida
A two week journey in space came to an end for the crew of Discovery yesterday when the space shuttle landed at Edwards Air Force Base in the California desert at 5:53 PDT. Discovery announced its arrival with two thunderous sonic booms over the Southland shortly before the picture perfect landing.
During the trip, the seven member crew delivered supplies and research materials to the International Space Station. Discovery was due to land in Florida, but unstable weather conditions forced a change of plans to Edwards Air Force Base where the skies were sunny and clear.
Next space shuttle to be rolled out on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida is Atlantis, scheduled to blast off in mid-November.