Space Shuttle Endeavour Returns Home
By VOA News
31 July 2009
The U.S. space shuttle Endeavour has returned home, capping a nearly two-week mission to the International Space Station that included a series of spacewalks.
Endeavour landed at the Kennedy Space Center in the southern state of Florida Friday, 16 days after takeoff. NASA said the landing capped a more than 10 million-kilometer (6.5 million-mile) mission.
The shuttle's mission to the space station included five spacewalks, during which shuttle astronauts installed an external platform on the station's Japanese lab, known as Kibo, or "hope." The platform will allow scientists to conduct experiments in the vacuum of space. The crew also conducted maintenance work on the station.
While the shuttle was docked at the station, the outpost's population grew to 13 - the highest number in its history.
The shuttle brought back Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, who had been on the space station since March. U.S. astronaut Timothy Kopra took his place on the station.
Some information for this report was provided by AP.
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