U.S. SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY LANDED SMOOTHLY IN FLORIDA ON MONDAY AT THE END OF A 13-DAY MISSION MEANT TO SHOW THE FLEET IS FIT TO FLY SAFELY, THREE YEARS AFTER THE FATAL COLUMBIA ACCIDENT, REUTERS REPORTED. DOUBLE SONIC BOOMS THUNDERED OVER CENTRAL FLORIDA AS THE SHUTTLE GLIDED THROUGH PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES HEADING TOWARD A THREE-MILE-LONG (FIVE KM) RUNWAY AT THE KENNEDY SPACE CENTER. COMMANDER STEVE LINDSEY GENTLY STEERED THE SHUTTLE THROUGH A SERIES OF TURNS TO SLOW THE CRAFT DOWN BEFORE THE WINGED SPACECRAFT LANDED AT 9:14 A.M. (1314 GMT). "WELCOME BACK DISCOVERY. CONGRATULATIONS ON A GREAT MISSION," SAID ASTRONAUT STEVE FRICK FROM NASA'S MISSION CONTROL AT THE JOHNSON SPACE CENTER IN HOUSTON. NASA ADMINISTRATOR MICHAEL GRIFFIN TOLD A POST-LANDING NEWS CONFERENCE, "IT WAS AN ENORMOUSLY SUCCESSFUL FLIGHT." BUT HE SOUNDED A CAUTIONARY NOTE ABOUT WHAT WAS A MAKE-OR-BREAK MISSION FOR THE U.S. SPACE AGENCY, EVEN AS HE DESCRIBED DISCOVERY AS "THE CLEANEST" OR MOST DAMAGE-FREE SHUTTLE ON ITS RETURN TO EARTH. "OBVIOUSLY, THIS IS AS GOOD A MISSION AS WE'VE EVER FLOWN BUT WE'RE NOT GOING TO GET OVERCONFIDENT," GRIFFIN SAID. GRIFFIN SAID BEFORE DISCOVERY'S LAUNCH THAT HE WOULD MOVE TO PULL THE PLUG ON THE SHUTTLE PROGRAM IF IT WERE MARRED BY ANY FURTHER ACCIDENTS OR SERIOUS TECHNICAL PROBLEMS. DISCOVERY'S FLIGHT WAS THE FIRST IN A YEAR AND ONLY THE SECOND SINCE THE 2003 COLUMBIA DISASTER. NASA HAS SPENT MORE THAN $1.3 BILLION ON SAFETY UPGRADES SINCE THE ACCIDENT, WHICH KILLED SEVEN ASTRONAUTS AND BROUGHT CONSTRUCTION OF THE $100 BILLION INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION TO A HALT.
