Racing to a smooth, predawn touchdown at Edwards Air Force Base, Space Shuttle Discovery's safe arrival punctuated NASA's first Return to Flight mission. Mission controllers originally hoped to land at Kennedy Space Center, but poor weather forced the crew to divert to the California desert. Discovery's controlled dive from space to the runway took approximately 60 minutes. The ship's reentry track saw the soaring orbiter light up the skies across the Pacific Ocean and southern California. Commander Eileen Collins and Pilot Jim Kelly were in control of Discovery as the space-fairing glider touched down. Roughly one week after Discovery's landing, the orbiter was hoisted onto the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft - a modified 747 - for its trip back to Florida. The flight home took three days, with stops in Oklahoma and Louisiana for fuel and checks of the 747's roof-top cargo. Discovery's final leg of the flight featured a brief, low altitude tour across Florida, which included a careful 'buzzing' of world famous Cocoa Beach, near the Space Center. Just a few nautical miles later, Discovery and the 747 lumbered onto the Kennedy Space Center runway, ending the nearly 2,500-mile flight to bring the great ship home.
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NASA ID
ksc_081505_goesn_arrives
Date Created
August 26, 2005
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KSC
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video
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NASA or National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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