Shuttle returns safely after heroic maintenance trip

DISCOVERY and its crew returned to Earth yesterday and concluded a 15-day space station build and repair mission that was among the most challenging — and heroic — in shuttle history.

The space shuttle touched down just after 1pm, after crossing the continent in the first coast-to-coast re-entry since the Columbia disaster almost five years ago.

Commander Pamela Melroy was greeted by crisp weather as she brought Discovery down.