Space shuttle lands safely

Space shuttle Discovery and its seven astronauts safely returned to Earth tonight after some last-minute suspense over which landing site to use.

The landing at Kennedy Space Centre, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, ends a year in which Nasa finally got construction of the international space station back on track.

Its arrival announced by its signature twin sonic booms, the spaceship touched down on a floodlit runway in the early evening darkness after a smooth, 13-day flight during which the astronauts rewired the space station and delivered US astronaut Sunita “Suni” Williams to the orbiting outpost for a six-month stay.

“We’re just really proud of the Nasa team that put it together,” said Discovery commander Mark Polansky. “We think it’s going to be a great holiday.”

One of the astronauts on board was Nicholas Patrick, who comes from North Yorkshire.