Shuttle Returns to Earth After Successful Mission
- Share via
From Times Wire Reports
Space shuttle Atlantis and its seven astronauts glided to a landing after installing the first girder in what will eventually be a 356-foot framework at the international space station.
It was the most complex construction job yet at the outpost.
Attack helicopters kept watch over Atlantis’ afternoon homecoming at Kennedy Space Center, part of the heightened security after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
It took four spacewalks to complete the 240-mile-high job.
More to Read
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.