Space Shuttle Returns First International Space Station Crew to Florida

The Space Shuttle Discovery landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida
11:31 p.m. (Pacific time) Tuesday (March 20) when weather improved to permit
a Florida landing.

NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center on Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., had
been alerted to prepare for Discovery’s mission STS-102 to arrive at Dryden
1 a.m. Wednesday because of the potential for a weather problem in Florida.
The decision to land at Florida was made by NASA mission control at about
9:50 p.m. Tuesday (Pacific time), with the shuttle’s de-orbit engine burn
started at 10:26 p.m.

Mission STS-102 carried the second crew to inhabit the International Space
Station, and brought home the first crew after more than four months in
orbit.

Landing in Florida saves about $1 million in cross-country transportation
costs, and can also shorten the turnaround time needed to prepare the
shuttle for its next space flight.