The space shuttle Discovery landed safely at Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, completing a 13-day mission that included expanding the number of astronauts who can live aboard the International Space Station. The shuttle touched down at about 3:14 p.m. ET. NASA had scrubbed an earlier planned landing, citing high winds. "It was a beautiful landing," said NASA launch manager Leroy Kaine. "About the only thing that beats a beautiful orbiter landing like this is the next launch." Discovery and its seven-member crew lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, last Sunday, to continue work on expanding the international space station's crew capacity from three to six. Joining the shuttle's seven-member crew on the return flight was astronaut Sandy Magnus, who spent 129 days aboard the space station. In her place, Discovery dropped off Koichi Wakata, who is the first Japanese astronaut who will spend an extended time on the station. CNN quoted NASA officials as saying that Magnus appeared to be in good physical condition after her four-month stint in space. "Everything is just fine," said flight chief William H. Gerstenmaier. "She's in great shape -- good spirits." It was Discovery's 36th voyage and the 125th space shuttle mission in the program's history. The official mission time was 12 days, 19 hours, 31 minutes and one second, according to NASA. The trip covered 5.3 million miles.
