Shuttle lands safely on Earth after 16-day flight
CAPE CANAVERAL -- Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven astronauts landed safely on Earth to end a long but successful space station construction mission.
Mission Control waited until practically the last minute, monitoring offshore rain showers. But the rain stayed far enough away and commander Mark Polansky was told he could home.
While visiting the international space station, the astronauts put on a new addition to Japan's $1 billion lab, installed fresh batteries, and stockpiled some big spare parts. They accomplished all of their major objectives and were part of the biggest gathering ever in space. Counting the six station residents, the crowd totaled 13.
The shuttle mission lasted 16 days and spanned 6.5 million miles. But it was the 138th day in orbit Friday for Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, who moved into the space station last March. He swapped places with American Timothy Kopra, who rode up on Endeavour.
Wakata said he's yearning for some sushi, as soon as he's back on the planet, and a soak in a hot spring once he's back in Japan. At the top of his list, though, was seeing his wife and son.
The shuttle astronauts carried out five spacewalks — tying a record for a single flight — and helped their station colleagues when a toilet flooded and an air purifier overheated. The commode, one of three on the linked shuttle and station, was fixed in a day. But the air-cleansing system is still out of order.
Another highlight: The astronauts got to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing with their own spacewalk.
Japan's Kibo lab — which means Hope — received a front porch for outdoor experiments during Endeavour's visit. An X-ray telescope and space environment monitor were installed on the porch, along with communication equipment.
The mission concluded work on the lab — the largest one at the orbiting outpost — that spanned more than a year and three shuttle flights. Next up for the Japanese will be the debut launch in September of an unmanned cargo ship.
