Shuttle returns to Earth, landing in Calif.
CAPE CANAVERAL -- Space Shuttle Atlantis and its crew of seven returned to Earth on Sunday, ending their exalted Hubble Space Telescope repair mission in California after stormy weather prevented a return to NASA's Florida home base.
Mission Control waited as long as possible for the weather to improve before finally giving up and directing commander Scott Altman and his crew to the Mojave Desert.
Atlantis swooped through a clear morning sky and touched down on the runway at Edwards Air Force Base.
"Welcome home, Atlantis," Mission Control radioed once the shuttle came to a safe stop. "Congratulations on a very successful mission giving Hubble a new set of eyes."
"It was a thrill from start to finish," Altman replied. "We've had a great ride."
After 13 days in orbit, many of them tending to Hubble, Altman and his crew were anxious to be back on the ground. They were supposed to land Friday, but NASA kept the astronauts circling the world in case thunderstorms from a lingering low-pressure system eased up.
The weather did not improve enough Sunday, and Mission Control passed up landing opportunities for a third straight day at Kennedy Space Center.
Altman was grateful for the pristine conditions at Edwards, NASA's backup landing site. "A beautiful day in the desert," he said before heading back.
NASA loses at least a week of work and close to $2 million in ferry costs by landing in California. And the astronauts will have to wait another day to be reunited with their families, who were in Florida.
The previous shuttle landing at Edwards was in November.
Atlantis ended up circling Earth 197 times and logged 5.3 million miles during its journey.
The astronauts left behind a refurbished Hubble that scientists say is better than ever and should keep churning out pictures of the universe for another five to 10 years. They carried out five spacewalks to give the 19-year-old observatory new science instruments, pointing devices and batteries, and fix a pair of broken instruments, something never before attempted. Stuck bolts and other difficulties made much of the work harder than expected.
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