Shuttle swoops to Earth safely

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., March 26 (UPI) -- The U.S. space shuttle Endeavour announced its arrival with twin sonic booms as it swooped to a smooth landing in Florida Wednesday night.

The spacecraft touched down at Kennedy Space Center at 8:39 p.m. EDT, ending the STS-123 mission flawlessly, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced on its Web site.

After landing, the Endeavour was being checked over by a team of about 150 people who prepare the orbiter for towing and help the astronaut crew get out. The crew members, commanded by Dominic Gorie, were to receive medical exams after exiting the spacecraft.

The STS-123 crew's mission began March 11. Endeavour arrived at the International Space Station the next day, and the crew delivered a pressurized module for a Japanese laboratory and the final element of Canadian-built robot named Dextre.

Mission specialists Richard Linnehan, Robert Behnken and Mike Foreman and Expedition 16 flight engineer Garrett Reisman conducted five spacewalks during the mission.

Astronaut Garrett Reisman officially joined the Expedition 16 crew, trading places with European Space Agency astronaut Leopold Eyharts, who returned to Earth aboard Endeavour after almost 50 days in space.

The next shuttle mission, STS-124, is slated to launch in May.