Fun Blog

"Welcome home Discovery after a great mission to bring the International Space Station to full power," fellow NASA astronaut George Zamka replied. "A special welcome home to Sandy (Magnus) after living and working onboard ISS as a member of Expedition 18, and to the entire crew of STS-119. Great job everybody."


Discovery completed an additional orbit of the Earth after cross winds and cloud cover forced the crew to scrub the landing scheduled for 1:39 p.m., Aviation Week reported. By the time the shuttle returned, conditions had improved enough to allow Lee Archambault to land Discovery at Kennedy Space Center at 3:14 p.m.

During its mission to the International Space Station, the crew delivered the final solar array panels and equipment that will be needed when the station crew grows to six in May. Kioshi Wakata remained at the station, becoming the first Japanese astronaut to make an extended stay there, while Sandra Magnus returned with Discovery after 136 days in orbit.

Shuttle Discovery and its crew of seven returned to Earth on Saturday and successfully wrapped up a construction mission that left the international space station with all its solar wings and extra electrical power. Discovery swooped through a cloudy sky and landed at NASAs spaceport in midafternoon, a little later than initially planned. 'Welcome home, Discovery, after a great mission,' Mission Control radioed. 'Its good to be back home,' said Discoverys commander, Lee Archambault.

Discovery's 13-day flight - which ended just as a new Russian-launched crew was settling into the space station - was highlighted by the installation and unfurling of the space station's last pair of solar wings. The $300 million addition brought the orbiting outpost up to full power, a vital part of NASA's plan to double the space station population and boost the amount of science research in a few months.