Endeavour Touches Down, Ending Space Station Construction Mission

Space shuttle Endeavour and its crew of five returned to Earth in triumph Monday, ending NASA’s most difficult space station construction mission yet.

Throughout the afternoon, Mission Control had worried that clouds or rain might delay Endeavour’s homecoming at Kennedy Space Center. But the weather cooperated, and the shuttle touched down shortly after sunset, right on time.

The international space station Alpha and its gleaming new solar wings soared over Florida four minutes before Endeavour’s touchdown, clearly visible from Cape Canaveral as it streaked through the dark sky.

During their week at the space station, Endeavour commander Brent Jett Jr. and his crew installed the world’s largest and most powerful solar wings. Three spacewalks were required to attach the $600-million wings, hook up all the cables and then tighten the right wing, which was too slack.

The astronauts also spent one day inside Alpha, helping commander Bill Shepherd and his two Russian crew mates with computer problems and cargo transfers.