Space shuttle Atlantis, 7 astronauts back on Earth

27 Nov : Space shuttle Atlantis and its seven astronauts returned to Earth with a smooth touchdown on Friday to end an 11-day flight that resupplied the International Space Station.

With bright sunlight glinting off it, the shuttle swooped through a clear sky and landed on the runway right on time.
Mission Control said no one could remember such welcoming conditions; there were no clouds in sight for Atlantis’ midmorning arrival, and the temperature was about 15 Celsius.

“Couldn’t have picked a clearer day,” commander Charles Hobaugh said. Mission Control congratulated him on a “picture perfect” landing.

It was a special sweet homecoming for two of the crew. Astronaut Nicole Stott was away for three months, living at the space station. Fellow crew member Randolph Bresnik’s baby daughter was born last weekend.

“Everybody, welcome back to Earth, especially you, Nicole,” Mission Control radioed.

Hobaugh and his crew spent a week stockpiling the space station. They delivered big spare parts and performed three spacewalks to install equipment and carry out maintenance.

The pumps, gyroscopes and storage tanks should keep the outpost in business for another five to 10 years, long after Atlantis and the two other shuttles are retired.

Stott was feeling the full effects of gravity for the first time since she rocketed to the space station at the end of August. Her mission lasted 91 days.