Endeavour lands safely

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida, Dec 1 (/AFP): The US space shuttle Endeavour and its crew of seven returned safely to Earth Sunday at a California air base concluding a 16-day mission to double living capacity at the International Space Station.
NASA's shuttle descended through a clear blue sky over the Mojave Desert to touch down at Edwards Air Force Base, after bad weather forced US space agency officials to detour the shuttle from the traditional landing site of Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
"Welcome back, that was a great way to finish a fantastic flight, Fergie," Alan Poindexter, an official at NASA control centre in Houston, Texas, told shuttle commander Chris Ferguson moments after Endeavour rolled to a stop at 1:25 pm local time (2125 GMT) at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert northwest of Los Angeles.
"We are happy to be here in California," Ferguson replied.