'It's great to be back on the ground and it's great to be in California,' Endeavour Commander Chris Ferguson said following a quick survey of the shuttle. Ferguson noted the work the crew did in space, including four spacewalks which totaled a combined 26 hours, 41 minutes. Ferguson was the first shuttle commander to land a shuttle on the temporary runway at Dryden Flight Research Center in California. The runway is 100 feet narrower and 3,000 feet shorter than the permanent, 15,000-foot-long, 300-foot-wide runway there. Endeavour was diverted to California early in the day because of poor weather at the primary landing site at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 'It all worked out well in the end,' Ferguson said.

Chris Ferguson led his crew of astronauts out of the Crew Transport Vehicle and around the outside of space shuttle Endeavour this afternoon at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California. After spending the night at Dryden, the crew is scheduled to fly back to their training home at NASA's Johnson Space Center on Monday.

Credits: NASA TV

International Space Station Commander Mike Fincke and crew members Sandra Magnus and Yury Lonchakov watched from the station's video system as space shuttle Endeavour landed today. Endeavour left the station Friday after delivering about seven tons of new equipment and supplies. Endeavour's crew also performed four spacewalks on the station to service the large joints that turn the huge solar arrays on the orbiting laboratory. Magnus flew to the station on board Endeavour.

The seven astronauts who returned to Earth aboard Endeavour are moving into the Crew Transport Vehicle which is parked at Endeavour's hatch. The CTV, as it is called, is similar to the people-movers used at some airports. It is just one vehicle parked by the shuttle now as technicians continue an extensive list of duties to ready Endeavour for its eventual move off the runway.

For space shuttle Endeavour, landing at California means several days of servicing and preparation so it can be loaded on the top of a modified 747 aircraft and flown back to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Endeavour, which landed today at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California because of poor weather in Florida, will be fitted with an aerodynamic cone over its main engines and orbital maneuvering system engines. Dryden and Kennedy are both equipped with special equipment to lift the shuttle and connect it to the 747.

The seven astronauts aboard space shuttle Endeavour will begin removing their orange launch-and-entry suits as post-landing work continues on schedule at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California. Today's landing marked the 19th time a shuttle landing has been diverted to Dryden because of weather. It was the seventh time Endeavour has landed at the West Coast center, and, overall, the 52nd time a shuttle has landed there. One shuttle mission, STS-3, landed at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. Seventy-one have concluded at Kennedy, the launch site for the shuttle fleet.

Just as they would for a Florida landing, a team of technicians in California is evaluating the outside of Endeavour before allowing large equipment trucks and more technicians to begin intensive post-landing work on the shuttle. The evaluation team uses special equipment to look for signs of abnormal chemical buildup around Endeavour. The team has the same gear at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center that they use for landings at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. There are about 80 employees stationed at the California center for landing operations. Another 200 will fly to Dryden from Kennedy on Monday.

Endeavour's mission to the International Space Station ended when the shuttle's motion stopped at 4:26:03 p.m. The mission lasted 15 days, 20 hours, 30 minutes and 34 seconds. The shuttle traveled 6,615,109 miles during its 250 orbits of Earth. It was the 27th shuttle mission to the space station, and the 124th shuttle mission overall.

After 250 orbits of Earth, STS-126 has concluded safely with space shuttle Endeavour executing a perfect entry and landing at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center. 'That was a great way to end a fantastic flight,' Capcom Alan Poindexter radioed the crew from Mission Control. The astronauts aboard the shuttle have about an hour of duties in front of them to 'safe' the vehicle so technicians can get it ready to move into its protective orbiter processing facility.

Endeavour is back on Earth!

Endeavour's main gear and nose wheels are down and locked for landing.

Space shuttle Endeavour has lined up with the runway and will drop its landing gear moments before landing.

A pair of sonic booms -- one from the nose and one from Endeavour's tail -- have heralded the shuttle's return to the skies over Southern California. Endeavour will make a long, sweeping turn to line up with runway 4 at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center.

Long-range cameras are focused on Endeavour now as it descends toward Dryden Flight Research Center in California. All the shuttle systems are operating well and the shuttle is set to land at 4:25 p.m.

Space shuttle Endeavour is nearing the California coast on its way to Dryden Flight Research Center for a 4:25 p.m. landing.

Astronaut Greg Chamitoff has not felt gravity for about six months until now. Chamitoff is on the lower deck of Endeavour's crew compartment and laying in a chair on his back to help his transition. The crew reports all systems are operating as they should.

Flight controllers at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston report Endeavour is on course during its entry into Earth's atmosphere. The spacecraft is protected by the heat shield from the hot plasma field surrounding the shuttle during the descent. It is halfway through the peak temperatures it will encounter during entry. Endeavour's speed is about 15,700 mph, or 23 times the speed of sound. It has 2,300 miles to go to reach Dryden.

Endeavour is encountering the first layers of thickening atmosphere as it descends toward Earth. The friction of the atmosphere will slow the spacecraft throughout entry, with the heat shield handling the work of protecting Endeavour. The shuttle orbits at about 17,500 mph, but will slow quickly as it moves into the thickening air. Endeavour is 59 miles above the pacific Ocean southwest of California and on target for a 4:25 p.m. landing.

Endeavour will encounter the first traces of Earth's thickening atmosphere at 3:52 p.m., with the highest temperatures taking place for about 10 minutes beginning at about 4 p.m. The shuttle will slow to about 2.5 times the speed of sound at 3:17 p.m. when it is about 80,000 feet above the planet -- more than twice as high as an airliner typically flies. At 3:19, Endeavour will slow to Mach 1. Commander Chris Ferguson will guide Endeavour through a series of roll maneuvers which help slow the spacecraft throughout the descent. The process culminates with Endeavour taking a wide turn over Dryden Flight Research Center in California to line up precisely with the runway for a landing at 4:25 p.m.

Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Eric Boe and mission specialists Steve Bowen and Shane Kimbrough are sitting on the flight deck for the entry phase of STS-126. Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper is on the lower level closest to the hatch and Donald Pettit is to her right. Greg Chamitoff, who has spent the past six months living on the International Space Station, is on the far right side of the middeck. Chamitoff, like all returning station crew members, is sitting on the shuttle's middeck, or lower level. He is strapped into a seat with his feet pointed toward the ceiling. That position makes the transition back to gravity easier on the body. Sandra Magnus, who flew into space with the STS-126 crew, took Chamitoff's place on the station. Everything is going well and on track for a 4:25 p.m. landing at Dryden Flight Research Center.

The orbital maneuvering system engines in the rear of Endeavour performed flawlessly for the prescribed 2-minute, 54-second burn, according to Mission Control. Now, Commander Chris Ferguson and Pilot Eric Boe are flipping the shuttle so its armored belly and nose are facing Earth at an angle. The spacecraft will encounter the first thin layers of the atmosphere in about 35 minutes.

Endeavour's two orbital maneuvering system engines ignited on time and will fire for less than three minutes to slow the spacecraft down so it can begin its entry into Earth's atmosphere. Everything remains on track for a 4:25 p.m. landing at Dryden Flight Research Center in California. Endeavour will be slowed by about 200 mph, which is just enough to let gravity take over and pull it into the Earth's atmosphere for the descent to California.

Endeavour will glide in over Greater Los Angeles, Calif., from the west and then make a sweeping turn to set up a final approach from the southwest to a temporary runway at Dryden. The runway is a 12,000-foot-long, 200-foot-wide stretch of concrete and asphalt that runs parallel to the permanent runway at Dryden. The permanent runway is closed for upgrades and maintenance, but will be available for future shuttle landings. The shuttle crew will fire Endeavour's braking rockets at 3:19 p.m. for a landing at Dryden at 4:25 p.m.

Endeavour has been cleared to land at Dryden during the first attempt of the day. 'Endeavour, Houston. You are go for deorbit burn,' Capcom Alan Poindexter radioed to STS-126 Commander Chris Ferguson. Ferguson will ignite the twin orbital maneuvering system thrusters at 3:19 p.m. to begin the shuttle's return to Earth. Landing remains scheduled for 4:25 p.m.

'I think you made a good call,' STS-126 Commander Chris Ferguson told Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in Houston as Endeavour's crew observed Florida from space. High crosswinds and thunderstorms were developing in Florida as a weather front approached the prime landing location at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, so mission controllers opted to send Endeavour to the sunny skies of California, instead.

Astronaut Pam Melroy is flying a Shuttle Training Aircraft through clear blue skies above Edwards Air Force Base in California so she can advise STS-126 Commander Chris Ferguson what to expect as he guides the shuttle through its final approach and landing later today. The temperature at landing is expected to be about 66 degrees F. In space, Endeavour closed its cargo bay doors earlier and Ferguson is loading the appropriate software into the shuttle's computers.

The stage is set for the triumphant return of space shuttle Endeavour after the successful equipment, re-supply and maintenance mission to the International Space Station.
Endeavour is scheduled to land today at 4:25 p.m. at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California's Mojave Desert. The NASA center is adjacent to Edwards Air Force Base. Poor weather forced mission controllers to wave off a pair of landing opportunities at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

STS-126 Mission Coverage

- courtesy of NASA