Atlantis and its seven astronauts took a cross-country detour and landed safely in the Mojave Desert Friday, ending a two-week mission of construction on the international space station and bringing a crew member home from the outpost. "It's just great to be back on planet Earth," shuttle commander Rick Sturckow said while standing on the tarmac at Edwards Air Force Base in California. "There were a lot of challenges on this mission and they were all dramatic. All the solutions worked well." "It's a good day for NASA," NASA Associate Administrator Rex Gevden said during a post-landing news conference. Shortly before 1 p.m. (4 p.m. ET), Atlantis swooped out of the blazing desert sky and glided down a concrete runway about 80 miles north of Los Angeles. Its return was marked by crackling twin sonic booms that were heard from San Diego to Los Angeles. "Welcome back," Mission Control told Atlantis. "Congratulations on a great mission." Controllers praised the crew for providing a "steppingstone to the rest of NASA's exploration plan." Astronaut Sunita "Suni" Williams returned to Earth on Atlantis after spending more than six months at the space station. She set an endurance record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman at 195 days. During her stay, she also set the record for most time spacewalking by a woman, according to a report of the Associated Press.
