Space shuttle Atlantis landing_20091127095238_JPG

Space shuttle Atlantis landing_20091127094718_JPG

Space shuttle Atlantis landing (NASA TV image)

Space shuttle Atlantis landing_20091127095238_JPG

Space shuttle Atlantis landing_20091127095239_JPG

  • More about STS-129
A 'beautiful, glowing, colorful planet'
A 'beautiful, glowing, colorful planet'

That is how astronaut and Clearwater native Nicole Stott …

Shuttle Atlantis ready to head home
Shuttle Atlantis ready to head home

Shuttle Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station …

Space shuttle Atlantis launches to space station
Atlantis launches to space station

Cloudy skies parted just in time this afternoon, allowing space…

Interview from space: Nicole Stott
Interview from space: Nicole Stott

Clearwater native Nicole Stott has been in orbit now for 38 …

From Clearwater to space
From Clearwater to space

Space shuttle Discovery lit up the Florida sky with a dramatic …

  • Marketplace Ads

Clearwater astronaut returns to Earth

Space shuttle Atlantis lands at KSC

Updated: Friday, 27 Nov 2009, 5:42 PM EST
Published : Friday, 27 Nov 2009, 9:47 AM EST

CAPE CANAVERAL - Space shuttle Atlantis glided safely back to Earth this morning, ending Clearwater astronaut Nicole Stott's three months in space.

The shuttle touched down under blue skies at Kennedy Space Center just before 10 a.m., completing an 11-day, three-spacewalk mission to deliver spare parts and other supplies to the international space station.

Stott hitched a ride home with the six-man crew. She had been living aboard the station since launching aboard Discovery back in August.

"I was sad to leave the space station and my crewmates there…but I'm getting to go home and see my family and I'm really excited," she told FOX 13 in a Thanksgiving Day interview from the shuttle.

After some rest and relaxation, Stott will begin training for her next flight. She is currently slated to be part of the crew of Discovery's STS-133 flight -- the last shuttle mission, schedule for September of next year.

The next shuttle flight is planned for February. Endeavour will deliver a multi-windowed module known as the 'cupola.'
 

  • MyFoxTampaBay.com photo galleries

Advertisement
  • Space News
  • Space Legacy

FOX 13 memories from the Cape

For all the deafening rocket launches, the technological wizardry, and the …

  • Marketplace Advertisement