A 'picture-perfect' shuttle mission

The shuttle Atlantis glided to a flawless landing Friday, wrapping up an 11-day mission to the International Space Station and bringing flight engineer Nicole Stott of Clearwater back to Earth after 91 days in space.

Dropping out of a clear sky, the shuttle was guided to a tire-smoking touchdown at 9:44 a.m. by the commander Charles Hobaugh and pilot Barry Wilmore, the final chapter in a 4.4-million-mile voyage that began with blastoff Nov. 16.

"That was a picture-perfect end to a top-fuel mission to the space station," Christopher Ferguson radioed from mission control at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. "Everybody, welcome back to Earth, especially you, Nicole."

Launched on Aug. 28 aboard the shuttle Discovery, Stott made the trip home resting on her back in a recumbent seat on the shuttle Atlantis' lower deck to ease her readaptation to gravity.

She was helped off the orbiter by flight surgeons and escorted to crew quarters for medical checks and a reunion with her husband and 7-year-old son.

Stott said she felt a little wobbly because of the tug of Earth's gravity, but was thrilled to be with family.

Aside from seeing her family, Stott said her top priorities were eating pizza and her first soft drink in three months.

It was also an especially sweet homecoming for Randolph Bresnik, whose second child, Abigail Mae, was born after his first spacewalk.

He flew home to Houston a day ahead of his crewmates so he could see his newborn daughter and his wife, who gave birth Saturday.

Hobaugh and his crew spent a week stockpiling the space station. They delivered big spare parts and performed three spacewalks to install equipment and carry out maintenance.

The pumps, gyroscopes and storage tanks should keep the outpost in business for another five to 10 years, long after Atlantis and the two other shuttles are retired.

Atlantis, which brought back broken equipment from the space station's water-recycling system, circled Earth 171 times.

Atlantis, which delivered nearly 15 tons of gear, left the space station 86 percent complete.

NASA's next shuttle flight is set for February. Endeavour will deliver a full-fledged module to the space station, complete with a seven-window cupola for prime Earth gazing. The agency plans five more shuttle flights to the space station before retiring the fleet next fall.