The space shuttle Discovery glided back to Earth to a pre-dawn landing here in the Mojave desert today, nearly 14 days after its 5.8-million-mile journey began.It was the first shuttle mission since the loss of the Columbia and its crew of seven astronauts in February 2003, which plunged the space agency into what Michael Griffin, NASA’s administrator, has called the ‘‘depths of despair’’.Discovery’s mission, on paper, was straightforward: It involved resupplying the International Space Station and testing new technologies and techniques for detecting, measuring and repairing damage from launch debris.But at the core, the mission of Discovery was to get the United States back in the business of launching humans into space.NASA administrators were ecstatic about the successful return into space. ‘‘If you want to know how I feel, I feel fantastic,’’ the program manager, Bill Parsons, said at a post-landing news conference in Florida. ‘‘This is a wildly successful mission in so many ways.’’ The landing was originally planned for the shuttles’ home, Kennedy Space Center in Florida. But unpredictable weather along the Space Coast led mission managers to ‘‘wave off’’ four landing opportunities in two days, and to finally call for a change of plans.While the skies over the Florida landing site were clear, clouds threatened nearby. But the skies over Mojave were deeply clear, the stars bright and the air cool.‘‘How do you feel about a beautiful, clear night with a breeze down the runway in the high desert of California,’’ asked Ken Ham, an astronaut at mission control who communicates with the shuttle.The shuttle commander, Col. Eileen Collins, replied, ‘‘We are ready for whatever we need to do.’’Weather for a shuttle landing has to be extremely clear, with no rain clouds within 30 miles of the landing site, since the decision to land comes more than an hour before the shuttle touches down. Good visibility is important, since the shuttle glides in to landing; the pilot cannot take it up again and turn around for a second try. And at the speeds the shuttle flies, rain can damage tile.The shuttle began the end of its mission at 7.06 p.m. by firing its engines over the Indian Ocean for more than two minutes in what is known as a de-orbit burn. About 30 minutes later, at an altitude of 76 miles, the shuttle entered the atmosphere at a maximum speed of more than 16,000 miles per hour, guided at first by its steering jets and later, as the atmosphere became thicker, by its wing flaps and rudder.During the computer-controlled descent, Discovery bled off excess energy and reduced its speed by performing a series of four banks. The shuttle streaked across the California coast from the southwest and flew north of Los Angeles on a course that took it between Oxnard and Ventura. A characteristic double sonic boom could be heard over Edwards as the craft passed overhead.Once Discovery’s velocity dropped below the speed of sound, Colonel Collins took over the controls and brought the spacecraft—now, essentially, a brick with wings—in for its approach. She executed a 196-degree turn to line up with Edwards’ 15,000-foot concrete runway 2-2. Main gear touched down and the parachute was deployed; the nose gear touched down immediately after, at 8.11 a.m. Eastern time, one minute ahead of schedule. ‘‘Discovery is home,’’ said James Hartsfield, the NASA spokesman narrating the return.As the shuttle rolled toward a stop, Ham said, ‘‘Congratulations on a truly spectacular test flight,’’ and added, ‘‘Welcome home, friends.’’ ‘‘We’re happy to be back,’’ Col. Collins said. ‘‘We congratulate the whole team on a job well done.’’ —NYT
