AREAS of Tokyo usually packed with office workers crammed into sushi restaurants and noodle shops were eerily quiet. Many schools were closed.

Space shuttle Atlantis’ seven astronauts reunited with their families in Texas last night, a day after the space shuttle capped a two-week mission with a perfect landing in the Mojave Desert in California.

Space shuttle Atlantis and its seven astronauts took a detour across the US and landed safely in California, ending a two-week mission of construction on the international space station.

A revived set of crucial computers aboard the International Space Station still need to undergo one more test before they are given a clean bill of health.