“Houston, Discovery, wheels stopped.”
Marine Col. Frederick W. Sturckow, commander of the Discovery shuttle, radioed as they landed on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base at 8:53 p.m E.D.T.
The shuttle was set to land at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida but bad weather that promised to continue on Saturday, stopped them from doing so.
The Discovery crew plus Army Col. Timothy L. Kopra plans to fly back to Houston tomorrow.
Kopra, who stayed at the International Space Station for two months, traveled back to Earth on this his back in a recumbent seat to ease his return to gravity.
“This experience has completely exceeded anything that I thought it would be like, just the sights, the sounds, the experiences with a great crew,” said Colonel Kopra last week. “The main thing …I’m looking forward to is seeing my family again, my wife and two kids. And maybe have a sip of a beer.”
Ahhh, nothing like a sip of beer can cure homesickness. 😉
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/12/science/space/12shuttle.html?_r=1
