Space Shuttle Discovery Glides Home

Sept. 11, 2009 -- Space shuttle Discovery and its seven astronauts are back on Earth. Discovery swooped through the clear California sky and landed at Edwards Air Force Base an hour before sunset Friday.

The shuttle was detoured to NASA's backup touchdown site because of stormy weather in Florida. It was the second day in a row that rain and clouds prevented Discovery from returning to its home port.

The landing capped Discovery's 14-day supply mission to the international space station. Astronaut Timothy Kopra, who spent nearly two months at the orbiting outpost, is experiencing gravity again.

NASA prefers Florida landings because the cross-country ferry trip, which involves transporting the shuttle atop a modified jumbo jet, costs $1.7 million and takes more than a week.

Discovery's delivery trip to the International Space Station began Aug. 28 -- liftoff was delayed in part by storms -- and covered 5.7 million miles.

The shuttle dropped off tons of supplies and equipment, including a $5 million treadmill named after Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert. That was his consolation prize after pushing for naming rights to a new space station room. NASA chose Tranquility for the yet-to-be-launched room, even though Colbert won the online vote.

WATCH VIDEO: Have you ever wondered what it's like to be an astronaut?

Related Content:

• Comedian's Treadmill Installed at Space Station
• HowStuffWorks.com: Space Shuttles
• More Discovery News

The treadmill will be assembled later this month. The space station's newest resident, Nicole Stott, who rode up on Discovery, is expected to break it in as the first runner.

Arriving back home on Discovery was the astronaut whom Stott replaced, Timothy Kopra. He spent nearly two months in orbit and said he was looking forward to seeing his wife and two children, and enjoying a sip of beer.

Also hitching a ride back was Buzz Lightyear. The 12-inch action figure flew up in mid-2008 as part of an educational program. The doll will return to Walt Disney World for a tickertape parade at the beginning of October.

Discovery's crew performed three spacewalks at the space station, installing a fresh tank of ammonia coolant, new antennas and cabling for Tranquility, the living quarters that's due to arrive early next year. One cable connector could not be hooked up, and that ended up being one of the few snags of the 14-day shuttle flight. NASA is devising repairs for the next shuttle visitors in November.

Related Links:

Discovery Space

When We Left Earth: NASA Mission Control

Irene Klotz's Blog: Free Space