DISCOVERY IS HOME

What a relief!

I saw the landing live.

Was it stressful? Yes.

I can only imagine how the astronauts, their families, and NASA officials felt upon the shuttle's re-entry.

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) --

Discovery swooped through the predawn darkness and landed at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert at 5:11 a.m. PDT, concluding the conclusion of the first shuttle re-entry since Columbia's tragic return.

The detour to California came because thunderstorms prevented the shuttle from returning to its home base at Cape Canaveral, Fla.

"Congratulations on a truly spectacular test flight," Mission Control said once Discovery came to a stop. "Welcome home, friends."

"We're happy to be back and we congratulate the whole team for a job well done," Commander Eileen Collins replied.

...NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said he did not know when a space shuttle will fly again, but that it won't happen until the problem is solved with the piece of foam insulation that broke off during launch.

"We're going to try as hard as we can to get back in space this year," Griffin said. "But we're not going to go until we're ready to go."

..."Today we honored the Columbia crew. We brought Discovery home safely," shuttle program manager Bill Parsons said. "It's a great day."

I really admire the courage of the shuttle crew and their families. This has to have been an agonizingly difficult time for them. Since liftoff on July 26, there has been so much uncertainty about the shuttle's condition and whether it was sound to make it back to earth safely.

Thanks to the skill and bravery of Discovery's crew and the commitment and professionalism of the people at Mission Control, the shuttle is home.

In July 1999, Eileen Collins was the first woman to command a shuttle mission. The poise and experience she displayed during this anxiety-ridden flight was awe-inspiring.

As shuttle program manager Bill Parsons said, "It's a great day."