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Space Shuttle Endeavour lands back on Earth

By Daily Mail Reporter
Updated: 16:38 EDT, 31 July 2009











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Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven astronauts touched down on Earth this afternoon.

The astronauts landed at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida after a 16-day mission that saw them complete all their major construction goals at the International Space Station.

The shuttle crew was woken at 6.03am this morning to the song Beautiful Day by U2, specially selected by Mission Specialist Tom Marshburn.



Touching down: Space go airport shuttle reviews nyc Endeavour prepares to land at the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral





Back on terra firma: The 16-day mission ends safely for the seven-strong crew



Endeavour Commander Mark Polansky and Pilot Doug Hurley checked out the systems for the return journey on Wednesday and reported that everything was in excellent shape.

They were part of the biggest ever gathering ever in space. Counting the six station residents, the crowd totalled 13.

Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata returned home following a four-and-a-half-month space station stay. He says he can't wait to taste some sushi and see his wife and son.



Enlarge   Mission accomplished: Space Shuttle Endeavour after undocking from the International Space Station, pictured in the foreground





Enlarge   Return voyage: Backdropped by the Earth, the Space Shuttle Endeavour is pictured from the International Space Station soon after undocking




A pair of spacewalking astronauts made the last upgrades to Japan's International Space Station on Tuesday while floating 225 miles above earth.

Shuttle astronauts Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn completed Japan's new outdoor experiments platform with the addition of television cameras - the final task for the £1.45 billion Kibo complex.

The enormous lab, named Kibo, or Hope in English, required three shuttle flights and took more than a year to finish.



Enlarge   On course: Backdropped by the blackness of space and Earth's horizon, the Space Shuttle Endeavour speeds back to Earth. It is scheduled to touch down at 3.48pm



Enlarge   A month's break: The International Space Station is pictured here from Space Shuttle Endeavour as the two spacecraft begin to separate on Tuesday. The next shuttle launch is scheduled for late August





Space Shuttle Endeavour finally set off from Earth after more than a month's delay.

The sixth and final attempt at the launch came on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the lift-off of man's first moon landing.

During the visit, the Endeavour astronauts installed an array of space-gazing telescopes to Kibo and set up science experiments that can function in open space.

They boosted the solar power system with replacement batteries and brought space parts essential to keep the station operational after the shuttle fleet retires next year.

The spacewalkers also rewired a circuit for the station's steering system and fixed the thermal covering on a Canadian-built construction robot.



Enlarge   Space study: The Japanese Kibo laboratory of the International Space Station





Enlarge   Parting journey: The space station is seen over the Earth framed by a window on Space Shuttle Endeavour




Nasa has seven more construction and resupply missions planned to complete the research outpost, which is a joint project between 16 nations.

Its next shuttle launch is scheduled for late August, pending the outcome of investigations into why Endeavour's fuel tank shed an unusually large amount of foam during its launch on July 15.

Any impacts on Endeavour from the debris appeared minor, but it raised potentially serious issues for future flights.





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