Shuttle Endeavour returns home after 16 days in space
(NECN: Cape Canaveral, Fla.) – Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven astronauts returned to Earth this morning. Endeavour touched down at 10:48 a.m. 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. As for NASA, seven shuttle flights remain to finish the space
station, now 83 percent complete with nearly 700,000 pounds of
mass. The next launch, by Discovery, is targeted for the end of
August. *Material from The Associated Press used in this report*