Homecoming
The space shuttle Discovery is seen as it lands at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Tuesday, April 20, 2010. Discovery and the STS-131 mission crew--Commander Alan G. Poindexter, pilot James P. Dutton Jr. and mission specialists Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Rick Mastracchio, Stephanie Wilson, Clayton Anderson and Japanese astronaut Naoko Yamazaki--returned from their mission to the International Space Station.
Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
After physicals aboard the crew transport vehicle, space shuttle Discovery's seven astronauts took a walk around the spacecraft that carried them more than 6 million miles. They each paused to express their thoughts about the mission and their gratitude to those on the ground who helped make the mission safe and successful.
"We had a lot of adversity but we overcame it all with some great team work," said Mission Specialist Clayton Anderson, who participated in the mission's three spacewalks and previously spent five months at the space station. "I've had two homecomings this flight. I got to go home to the International Space Station and now I get to come home to KSC. To all of you who helped get us up and bring us back, thank you so very much. God bless America."
The astronauts returned to crew quarters aboard the silver Astrovan, the same vehicle that carried them to the launch pad for their liftoff. They are expected to return to their home base at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston tomorrow.
Discovery's touchdown at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida came at 9:08 a.m. EDT on April 20, after a one-day delay due to weather.
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