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Discovery lands in Florida |
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Written by Derek Kessler on
Wednesday, 07 November 2007
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 After a construction mission to the International Space Station that turned into a mad rush to repair broken components, the Space Shuttle Discovery landed safely at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. What could easily be classified as the most difficult shuttle mission to date, the crews of both Discovery and the ISS had to repair a torn solar array on the station in addition to coping with a broken critical joint and adding a new module to the orbital laboratory.
Commander Pam Melroy guided the shuttle to a smooth landing at KSC, completing the first over-land approach since the Columbia disaster in 2003. The re-entry path took Discovery over British Columbia, Montana, Wyoming, the Great Plains and the Deep South, and finally down into Florida. NASA chose the route over the more populated areas (as opposed to the over-water approach other missions have used) so that they could land the shuttle more safely during daylight and give the crew some extra rest after such a long and strenuous flight.
The repair and construction work completed by the Discovery crew will allow for the continued expansion of the ISS. The next missions - Atlantis - will deliver the ESA's Columbus laboratory to the station, and later launches will deliver a Japanese lab and possibly attempt repair on a troublesome rotator joint for the station's massive solar arrays.
Discovery left behind US astronaut Daniel Tani, exchanging him for Clayton Anderson. Anderson had been aboard the ISS since June, spending 152 days in orbit.
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"It's unethical to harm a patient. However, I can inflict as much pain as I like."
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