Washington - US space shuttle Discovery and its six astronauts returned safely to Earth on Monday, touching down in Florida after a problem-free 13-day mission to the International Space Station.
Space Shuttle Discovery lands at the Kennedy Space Center landing facility Monday 17 July 2006. Discovery finished mission STS-121 with thirteen days in space and three space walks by mission specialists Piers Sellers and Michael Fossum. Discovery mission STS-121 transported European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter to the International Space station bring the crew to three. This was the second Return to flight mission in two years. The next space shuttle flight mission STS-115 is scheduled for launch no earlier than 26 August 2006. EPA/GARY I ROTHSTEIN
Twin sonic booms announced the shuttle before it roared through thick cloud cover and landed at Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral at about 500 kilometres an hour, its parachute bursting open to slow the craft before it rolled to a stop.
Commander Steve Lindsey's picture-book landing capped the first shuttle flight since last August, bringing relief to NASA and the US space agency's troubled programme.
'Congratulations on a great mission,' NASA mission control radioed the cockpit after touchdown.
'We enjoyed the entry and the landing,' replied Lindsey.
On the final approach, the shuttle pointed its nose toward Earth and came down off a speed of 5,400 kilometres per hour - six times the speed of sound - just 10 minutes before landing.
The mission included three space walks by astronauts Piers Sellers and Mike Fossum. German astronaut Thomas Reiter, 48, remained aboard the ISS, where he will stay for the next six months with US astronaut Jeffrey Williams and Russian Pavel Vinogradov.
Discovery decoupled Saturday from the International Space Station and began a two-day return flight to Earth, transporting 2.3 tons of rubbish, waste and unneeded parts for the ISS.
The shuttle's heat shield did not sustain any apparent external impact damage during takeoff.
In 2003, the space shuttle Columbia broke apart as it re-entered Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven crew members.
Investigators found that the disaster was caused by insulating foam falling from the external fuel tank during launch, striking the shuttle's wing and damaging the heat shield that protects it against the atmosphere's friction during re-entry.
A year ago, heat-shielding tiles were again damaged during the first shuttle launch since the Columbia disaster. External repairs were made on that mission while the shuttle was docked to the ISS.
The next space shuttle launch is set for August 28, when the Atlantis is to lift off with four huge solar energy panels bound for the ISS.
© 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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