Discovery lands safely after successful mission

Source: Agencies  |   2008-6-15  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

The US space shuttle Discovery landed at its home port last night, wrapping up a mission that gave Japan a permanent toehold in space and setting NASA up for its next mission - a high-profile servicing call to the Hubble Space Telescope.

Shuttle commander Mark Kelly steered the craft through thin clouds as it slowed from a top speed of 28,000 kilometers per hour in orbit to under the speed of sound just short of the runway at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Discovery touched down at 9:15pm Shanghai time, completing NASA's 123rd shuttle mission. Just 10 flights, including one in October to the Hubble telescope, remain before the fleet is retired in 2010.

Discovery returned with its cargo hold nearly empty after delivering the main section of Japan's elaborate Kibo laboratory to the International Space Station.

The 32-ton module was so big, Discovery didn't have room to carry an inspection boom used to scour the spacecraft's body for damage caused during launch, and had to borrow one left aboard the station by the previous shuttle crew in March.

Checking shuttles for damage before they return to Earth has become routine since the shuttle Columbia exploded on re-entry in 2003.