Going Places- Up and Away by Misty Cato
Basic Instincts by Micheline Martin
The photo of Annika is NOT with the shuttle, but rather an airplane at the airpark at the base. Civilians were not allowed on the airstrip during the landing.
[quote]Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven astronauts safely returned to Earth on Sunday, taking a detour to sunny California after storms hit the main landing strip in Florida. On Sunday, NASA ordered the detour to California after dangerously high wind and a stormy sky prevented a Florida landing. "Welcome back. That was a great way to finish a fantastic flight," Mission Control radioed. "And we're happy to be here in California," shuttle commander Christopher Ferguson replied. Congratulations also came down from the space station. "Wow," said skipper Mike Fincke, who watched the landing broadcast live. Returning home from a six-month mission was former space station resident Gregory Chamitoff, who had rocketed away from the planet at the end of May. The space shuttle's journey, short by comparison, spanned 6.6 million miles (11 million kilometers) and 250 orbits of Earth. NASA always prefers to land the space shuttles at their home base in Florida. It takes about a week and costs $1.8 million to transport a shuttle from California to Florida, atop a modified jumbo jet. The astronauts also had been rooting for a Florida touchdown; that's where their families were waiting. As Endeavour soared over Houston, home to Mission Control, Ferguson could see all the bad weather in Florida. "I think you made a good call," he radioed. It was the first space shuttle landing at Edwards in more than a year. Ferguson landed on a temporary runway that's shorter and more narrow than the Kennedy landing strip. Edwards' main runway — which parallels the temporary one — just underwent maintenance and upgrades, and has yet to be equipped with all the necessary navigation equipment. [/quote]
