Discovery shuttle lands after 13 days in orbit

Space shuttle Discovery and its crew of six returned to Earth through overcast skies today, ending a successful US mission that…

Space shuttle Discovery and its crew of six returned to Earth through overcast skies today, ending a successful US mission that put Nasa back in the space station construction business.

Discovery glided down through an overcast sky onto the Kennedy Space Centre runway at Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 9.14am (2.14pm Irish time), allowing Nasa to declare total victory for the first time since before the 2003 Columbia disaster.

It was so cloudy, shuttle commander Steven Lindsey could not spot the runway until about a minute before landing.

Agencies