Source: The New York Times
The space shuttle Discovery returned to Earth on Tuesday with a fiery dawn plunge across the heartland of America, closing out a complex space station resupply mission with a smooth Florida landing.
The space shuttle Discovery landed at Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Running a day late because of cloudy weather, Capt. Alan G. Poindexter of the Navy took over manual control at an altitude of about 50,000 feet above the spaceport, guiding the shuttle through a sweeping right overhead turn to line up on Runway 33.
After the shuttle’s steep descent, Captain Poindexter pulled the Discovery’s nose up just before the runway threshold, and the pilot, Col. James P. Dutton Jr. of the Air Force, deployed the landing gear, and the shuttle settled to a tire-smoking touchdown at 9:08 a.m. Eastern time.
“Houston, Discovery, wheels stopped,” Captain Poindexter radioed to mission control at the Johnson Space Center.
“Roger, wheels stopped, Discovery. Welcome home,” Frederick W. Sturckow, an astronaut and retired Marine colonel, replied from mission control. “Dex, congratulations to you and the crew on an outstanding mission.”
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