Endeavour returns from 16-day mission

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – 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.

Endeavour wrapped up a 16-day trip that left the International Space Station freshly remodeled and capable of housing bigger crews.

The shuttle dropped off all kinds of home improvement equipment, including a new bathroom, kitchenette, exercise machine, two sleeping quarters and a recycling system designed to convert astronauts’ urine and sweat into drinking water.

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.

It was the first space shuttle landing at Edwards in more than a year. When Endeavour hurtled over metropolitan Los Angeles, firefighters responded to a report of an explosion that turned out to have been the spacecraft’s signature sonic booms.