Discovery Lands After Historic Mission

The space shuttle Discovery and its crew glided to a perfect landing Saturday, ending a historic rendezvous mission that cleared the way for NASA to dock with the Russian space station.

“We learned a lot about working with the Russians,” shuttle director Brewster Shaw said. “The flight was extremely successful, and we’re just delighted.”

The next step comes in June when the shuttle Atlantis docks with the orbiting Mir station for a crew swap. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration rehearsed everything but the docking during Discovery’s eight-day flight, pulling the spacecraft within 37 feet of Mir on Monday.

“Astonishing, beautiful machine that they have. . . . Truly amazing experience,” shuttle commander James Wetherbee said after landing. “We’re on the right path. This agency is going places, and we’re doing it with Russians, and I think that’s the right thing to do.”

About 250 people gathered in the pre-dawn chill to welcome Discovery and its six astronauts home.

Wetherbee guided the shuttle through a clear sky onto the runway at Kennedy Space Center in what flight director Wayne Hale called “a picture-perfect landing.”

The three cosmonauts on Mir watched via a television hookup.

“The Mir crew just passed along congratulations on your mission,” Mission Control told Wetherbee.

“ Spasibo ,” Wetherbee replied--Russian for “thank you.”

The shuttle’s crew made U.S. space history in two other ways.

Sitting in the right seat of Discovery’s cockpit was Air Force Lt. Col. Eileen M. Collins, the first woman to pilot a NASA craft. And Bernard Harris Jr. became the first African American to walk in space.