CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Shuttle Endeavour soared silently through the partly cloudy skies on Monday to ferry home three men who have lived in orbit for 129 days and conclude NASA's sixth and final shuttle mission of the year.
With commander Dom Gorie and pilot Mark Kelly at the controls, Endeavour circled above its Florida home port to dissipate speed, then nose-dived toward the canal-lined concrete runway at the Kennedy Space Center to wrap up a 4.8-million mile mission.
Gorie gently eased the 100-ton spaceship onto the landing strip at 12:55 p.m., then braked and steered Endeavour down the runway until it came to a silent halt.
"Houston, Endeavour, wheels stop," radioed Gorie to flight controllers at the Johnson Space Center.
"Nice job on the approach and landing to you and your crew ," replied astronaut Jim Kelly from Mission Control.
The shuttle returns with seven people aboard -- the same number it held when it left the launch pad 12 days ago. However, the faces on the middeck were different: Frank Culbertson, Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin traded places with Yuri Onufrienko, Carl Walz and Dan Bursch, who were left aboard the International Space Station to become the fourth live-aboard crew. Culberton, the previous space station commander, and his Russian crewmates have been in orbit since Aug. 10.
The shuttle also carries an Italian-built cargo hauler stuffed with nearly 2 tons of old packaging materials, trash and unneeded equipment from the space station. Aboard the shuttle's middeck are the results of several experiments completed during the third crew's stay on the outpost. The research includes protein crystal growths and cell samples. The new station crew will continue to grow ovarian and colon cancer cells, as well as kidney cells, in microgravity for analysis upon return to Earth.
Security remained on high-alert at the Kennedy Space Center as a result of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, although NASA plans to reopen a road leading to the spaceport's visitors center on Tuesday.
The shuttle carried mementoes for families and friends of the more than 3,000 people who lost their lives in the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks, as well as the hijacked jet that crashed in Pennsylvania. The items include American flags and police and firefighter badges.
NASA's next shuttle flight is targeted for launch on Feb. 14. Shuttle Columbia, which will mark its return to flight after a 2 1/2-year hiatus for upgrades and maintenance, is being prepared for a mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope.
