Landing at NASA's back up landing strip was at 5:11:22am local time (12:11:22 UTC).

A landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida was canceled yesterday, and again this morning, due to unfavorable weather conditions.

At this stage there is no fixed schedule for when the next shuttle mission will be launched again, if ever.

This was the 50th shuttle landing at Edwards.

full report
Discovery lands, ending first shuttle mission since Columbia disaster
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, California, Aug 9 (AFP)
The space shuttle Discovery touched down safely in California Tuesday, marking the culmination of the first shuttle flight since Columbia disintegrated in flames in 2003.

Commander Eileen Collins landed Discovery at Edwards Air Force base at 5:11 am (1211 GMT), ending a 14-day mission that NASA managers hailed as a success, Mission Control said after adjusting the touchdown time.

"Discovery is home," Mission Control in Houston, Texas, said as the wheels roared onto the 6,800-meter (15,000-foot) concrete runway shortly after two huge sonic booms rang out over the dark Mojave desert as Discovery approached its home planet.

"Welcome home," Mission Control told Collins and her six crew members individually seconds after touchdown.

"A job well done," she replied after a flawless re-entry into Earth's atmosphere and the one-hour descent to landing.

NASA managers have hailed the mission as a success even though it showed they failed to resolve the insulating foam problem that had doomed Columbia when it re-entered Earth's atmosphere on February 1, 2003.

Discovery was initially scheduled to land at Cape Canaveral in Florida, but bad weather forced NASA to shift the landing site to California.

Mission Control officials heaved a sigh of relief as a parachute deployed from the rear of the shuttle, slowing down Discovery, which then came to a full stop, safely returning the seven astronauts to Earth.

The final moments of a shuttle mission are among the most critical, and it was upon re-entering Earth's atmosphere that Columbia had burst into flames.

The tragedy was blamed on insulating foam that fell off and damaged the orbiter's left wing upon take-off.

Similar chunks of foam fell off the external tank when Discovery blasted into space on July 26. NASA said the debris caused no significant damage, but upon its return, Discovery was grounded with the rest of the fleet until the problem is resolved.

The US space agency was optimistic that a solution would be found soon, and tentatively scheduled the next launch for September 22.

earlier related report
Discovery To Land At California's Edwards Air Force Base
Space Shuttle Discovery has been cleared to land Tuesday at California's Edwards Air Force Base after weather thwarted its planned landing in Florida, NASA officials said.

"Discovery has been waved off all landing opportunities to Kennedy Space Center and efforts have been refocused towards a landing at Edwards Air Force base" and will land at 5:12am (1212 GMT), Mission Control said.

The craft will touch down on runway 22 some 53 minutes before sunrise over California's Mojave desert.

The shuttle's three steering jets will fire at 4:06am Pacific time (1106 GMT), slowing the craft by about 300 kilometers (200 miles) from its speed of about 29,000 kilometers per hour (18,000 miles) for re-entry.

The craft, carrying seven astronauts, will encounter the first layers of the Earth's atmosphere at 4:40am (1140 GMT), positioning itself at a carefully calibrated angle of 40 degrees to slide back into Earth's atmosphere.

As Discovery travels northeast across the Pacific it will make four banking manoeuvres and cross the coast of California between Los Angeles and the town of Oxnard, mission control said in an audio feed relayed to Edwards.

The landing in California, which NASA had wanted to avoid due to its added expense and the likely delays it could cause possible launches later this year, will take place in the dusty Mojave desert.

Edwards is where Columbia landed after the first ever space shuttle mission into space on April 14, 1981, and 28 shuttle landings have taken place at the site 144 kilometers (90 miles) north of Los Angeles.

The Discovery mission due to end here later Tuesday is the first return to earth of a space shuttle since the Columbia disintegrated on re-entry on February 1, 2003, dealing a severe blow to the space programme.

Mission control made a last minute decision to divert the craft to California from Florida after showers and thunderstorm near the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral prevented its scheduled landing at 5:07 am (0907 GMT).

Earlier, controllers passed over the first landing window of the morning at Cape Canaveral due to weather, which early Monday also resulted in the shuttle crew being ordered to spend an extra day in orbit.

earlier related report
Florida Landing Scrubbed
NASA postponed Tuesday's scheduled landing of Space Shuttle Discovery by 96 minutes to 6:43 am (1043 GMT) because of anticipated storms near the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida.

"We are going to officially wave off the first attempt," said Ken Ham at mission control

"We're holding some hope for the section option" at the Kennedy Space Center he said, adding that showers and thunderstorms were expected near the facility on Florida's Atlantic coast.

Discovery Commander Eileen Collins took the news in stride after NASA already called off Monday's scheduled touchdown because clouds affected visibility on the runway.

"We understand how unstable weather is in Florida, so we're not surprised at all," Collins told mission control.

NASA said it remained unclear whether conditions would improve in time for the second landing opportunity at KSC.

The Florida space center is the preferred landing site, but NASA could also send Discovery to California, where it could land at the Edwards Air Force Base at 1212 GMT or 1347 GMT.

NASA expected favorable conditions at the California site, but as a last resort Discovery could also land at the White Sands Missile range in New Mexico.

The shuttle could stay an extra day in space if necessary.

earlier related report
Discovery crew readies for pre-dawn return to Earth after one-day delay
Discovery's crew prepared to return to Earth before dawn Tuesday after bad visibility over the runway delayed by a nerve-wracking day the return of the first space shuttle flight since the 2003 Columbia disaster.

The decision to keep the astronauts in orbit for an extra day was the latest in a series of disappointments for the crew who had admitted they would have the deaths of their Columbia colleagues during their homebound journey.

But the seven crew members were upbeat as NASA woke them up to the Beatles' "Good Day Sunshine."

"We sure hope that we get our feet on the ground today," mission specialist Wendy Lawrence told mission control.

While Discovery can remain in orbit until Wednesday, NASA is determined to bring the shuttle and its crew back to Earth on Tuesday.

But late Monday, it remained unclear whether they would land in Florida, California or New Mexico.

NASA hopes conditions will allow for a 5:07 (0907 GMT) touchdown at the Kennedy Space Center, where a low cloud cover caused the cancelation of Monday's scheduled landing.

But with a chance of offshore showers near the Florida seashore facility , NASA was also considering a landing at the Edwards Air Force Base in California, where forecasters expect better conditions.

If weather doen't allow for landing at either of those facilities, the shuttle could head to the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

NASA's decision to postpone Monday's landing came only minutes before the crew was set to start re-entry into Earth's atmosphere, the critical stage when Columbia burst into flames and disintegrated on February 1, 2003, killing all seven astronauts on board.

"You guys made the right decisions. We are right with you. We are going to enjoy another day in orbit," Discovery Commander Eileen Collins told mission control.

Collins said earlier she had no worries about the return to Earth as the orbiter was in great shape.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration managers also hailed the "return to flight" mission as a complete success.

But Discovery will be grounded with the other two remaining shuttles in the fleet because its mission revealed that NASA had failed to resolve the problems with debris falling off during liftoff that had doomed Columbia

The mission was largely designed to test changes made to the shuttle since the Columbia disaster, including improvements meant to prevent insulating foam from breaking off during launch.

The crew carried out emergency repairs in orbit, and there were concerns that a tear to a thermal blanket just outside Collins's cockpit could pose a new danger. But NASA officials said the return would be safe.

They also said the orbiter suffered no significant damage when foam insulation fell off its external fuel tank as the shuttle blasted into orbit on July 26.

The same problem doomed Columbia, as the debris hit the orbiter's left wing, causing a crack that eventually allowed superheated gases to penetrate the structure upon re-entry into the atmosphere.

As it plunges through the atmosphere, the shuttle's speed drops from nearly 29,000 kilometers (18,000 miles) per hour in orbit to about 350 kph (220 mph) at touchdown.

The mission had been scheduled to last 12 days, but an extra day was added so the crew could transfer as much material and provisions as possible to the International Space Station, amid uncertainty over the date of the next shuttle flight.

The crew also retrieved waste and equipment to clear out space in the cramped orbiting lab.

During the mission, Stephen Robinson became the first astronaut to carry out a spacewalk under the shuttle, to extract two protruding pieces of fiber that risked overheating during re-entry.

In another two spacewalks, Robinson and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi tested repair techniques adopted after the Columbia tragedy and replaced one of the space station's four gyroscopes.

earlier related report
Discovery Landing Delayed One Day Until 5.08am Eastern
NASA delayed Discovery's scheduled return to Earth on Monday by 24 hours because of bad weather around the Florida base where the first shuttle mission since the 2003 Columbia disaster is to land.

Low cloud cover over Cape Canaveral was considered a threat to visibility for landing at the Kennedy Space Center and the seven crew on Discovery were told to stay in orbit an extra 24 hours, extending their mission a second time to 14 days.

"We just can't get comfortable with the stability of the situation," ground control told the shuttle as a second landing time was put back.

"We are going to officially waive you off for 24 hours," Ken Ham at mission control told Discovery Commander Eileen Collins.

NASA now hopes Discovery will return at 5:08 am (0908 GMT) Tuesday. If the weather is again bad Discovery could land until Wednesday in Florida or at alternate runways in California and New Mexico.

Collins and Pilot James Kelly said earlier they had no worries about the nervewracking return to Earth even though Columbia burned up and disintegrated as it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere on February 1, 2003, killing all seven astronauts aboard.

"We're looking forward to coming home," Collins told mission control.

Hours before the first scheduled landing, the astronauts closed the massive bay doors of the payload area, and configured computers for the hourlong homeward journey.

Once they get the go-ahead, Collins and Kelly should fire up the two steering jets for three minutes to loose enough altitude to begin the plunge toward the Earth.

Discovery will be grounded with the rest of the fleet once it returns to Earth because the mission has exposed renewed problems with debris falling off shuttles -- the cause of the Columbia tragedy.

The mission was largely designed to test changes made to prevent insulation foam from breaking off upon launch.

"We have definitely accomplished our mission objectives," Collins told NBC television on Sunday. She stressed the crew would concentrate on getting home safely.

"We're going to have thoughts about Columbia, but we'll be very focused on the job at hand," she said.

The crew carried out emergency repairs in orbit and there were concerns that a tear to a thermal blanket just outside the cockpit could pose a new danger. But National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials said the return would be safe.

They also said the orbiter suffered no significant damage when foam insulation fell off its external fuel tank as the shuttle blasted off on July 26.

The same problem doomed Columbia. Debris hit the orbiter's left wing, causing a crack that allowed superheated gases to penetrate the structure upon re-entry.

As it drops through the atmosphere, its speed drops from nearly 29,000 kilometers (18,000 miles) per hour in orbit to about 350 kph (220 mph) at touchdown.

The mission had been scheduled to last 12 days, but an extra day was added so the crew could transfer as much material and provisions as possible to the International Space Station (ISS), amid uncertainty over the date of the next shuttle flight.

The crew also retrieved waste and equipment to clear out space in the cramped orbiting lab.

During the mission, Stephen Robinson became the first astronaut to carry out a spacewalk under the shuttle, to extract two protruding pieces of fiber that risked overheating during re-entry.

In another two spacewalks, Robinson and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi tested repair techniques adopted after the Columbia tragedy, and replaced one of the space station's four gyroscopes.

"It's been a great trip and we'll come back with a lot of stories," Noguchi told CBS television.

earlier related report
At Hypersonic Speeds, Discovery Shuttle Landing Is Innately Risky
Slashing speed from nearly 29,000 kilometers per hour (18,000 mph) at up to 1,650 degrees Celsius, landing the US space shuttle permits little error in the best case, NASA officials say.

The landing Monday of the Discovery shuttle will carry an even greater sense of risk, though, coming thirty months after the Columbia shuttle disintegrated upon reentry.

Seven astronauts died in February 2003 when the Columbia broke up while descending to Earth after superheated gases entered the spacecraft through holes in its heat shield.

The tragedy stalled the US space agency's shuttle program so that NASA engineers could reduce the spacecraft's vulnerabilities.

But the risks are still innate and uncommonly high, officials of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration say.

"Flying a re-entry is not what normal sane people would normally call safe," said Wayne Hale, shuttle deputy program manager.

"It is not 100 percent safe," he stressed.

With little room for error, the shuttle must turn around in space an hour before the scheduled landing and fire its engines to decelerate from 29,000 kmh.

The shuttle pushes through the outer layers of the atmosphere about 25 minutes later, at an altitude of 129 kilometers (80 miles).

It is still some 8,000 kilometers (4,970 miles) away from the landing site at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

As it drops through the atmosphere at a rate of 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) a minute, the shuttle effectively changes from being a space orbiter into an unpowered sailplane.

"You only get one shot at it, since we are only a big glider," said Paul Hill, the lead shuttle flight director.

The shuttle continues its descent with its heavily insulated belly facing the earth's surface, angled at 40 degrees.

The angle of entry is crucial in breaking through the densest layers of the atmosphere.

A more shallow angle would see the shuttle ricochet back into space, like a rock skimming over the water's surface. A steeper angle would make it overheat. The least error could be fatal.

As the air pressure builds in the atmosphere half an hour before landing, 85 kilometers (53 miles) above earth, the shuttle's wing flaps and rudder become useable.

The shuttle makes a series of four steep, 'S'-shaped turns, rolling to the side as much as 80 degrees, in order to slow down.

Nevertheless, the Discovery will still be moving at supersonic speeds, and the friction of the air will push the temperature of its exterior ceramic tiles to 1,650 degrees Celsius (3,002 Fahrenheit).

It was during this phase of the landing descent, about 16 minutes before landing, that the Columbia broke up in mid-air over the southern United States in 2003.

Its heat shield had been damaged by pieces of foam which broke off the shuttle's fuel tank when it was launched.

Just ten minutes before touchdown, 43 kilometers (27 miles) above the Earth, the shuttle is still moving at nearly 10,000 kilometers per hourmph).

Two minutes later, the shuttle finally becomes controllable by the astronauts inside.

Flying through the inner atmosphere over Florida four minutes before landing, the shuttle emits two massive sonic booms as it drops beneath the speed of sound.

The astronauts begin manually steering the aircraft into its final approach trajectory, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the runway.

Ninety seconds from landing, as the astronauts line up with the runway ahead of them, the Discovery will still be at an altitude of 4,500 meters (14,763 feet).

Still moving at 518 kilometers per hour (321 mph), the shuttle has to descend at a much more acute angle than a commerical airline, losing altitude about twenty times faster.

Finally, at 610 meters (2,000 feet) above the ground, 33 seconds before touchdown, the pilot will pull up Discovery's nose to slow it aerodynamically, and then lowers the landing gear.

The rear wheels hit the tarmac first at 354 kilometers per hour (220 mph), speed breaks are deployed to the maximum, and a parachute is released from the shuttle's rear to help slow it down.

The pilot gently brings the nose down, applies the breaks, and lets the now-useless parachute fall away from the aircraft. If all has gone perfectly, the shuttle will roll calmly to a stop.

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

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