Discovery's back home

Well back on Earth at least. Bad weather in Florida forced NASA to abandon Cape Kennedy (aka Cape Canaveral) as the landing site, and switch to Edwards AFB on the West Coast.



After 219 orbits around the Earth, Commander Eileen Collins piloted Discovery back on the ground. Actually, the auto-pilot piloted the spacecraft for the first part of the descent, but Cmdr Collins took over for the last 2, most crucial minutes. If you think landing a space shuttle is like landing an aircraft, look at this page. Well done, Cmdr Collins.

Now that Discovery has landed so far from home, what's next for the orbiter? Shuttle engineers will install a large cone on the tail that smooths the airflow around the orbiter while it is being carried on a 747. Yes, a special 747 aircraft will carry the shuttle back to Kennedy.


(image from http://www.air-and-space.com/Discovery%2020001030-1102.htm)

Have a safe trip home, Discovery.