2 months ago
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- Space shuttle Discovery is headed for California.
Mission Control ordered Discovery and its seven astronauts to aim for a Friday evening touchdown at Edwards Air Force Base, after bad weather prevented them from returning to Florida for the second day in a row.
Edwards is NASA's backup landing site. The space agency prefers Florida landings because the cross-country ferry trip costs $1.7 million and take more than a week.
Stormy weather made it too risky to bring Discovery back to its home port Thursday, and conditions were even worse Friday. So flight director Richard Jones opted for the sunny skies of the Mojave Desert.
The delivery trip to the international space station has spanned 14 days and 5.7 million miles.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
