The US space shuttle Discovery landed safely at its Florida home base this evening after a grueling but successful 15-day construction mission that prepared the International Space Station for new laboratories.
Gliding through crisp, clear skies, the shuttle settled onto a concrete, canal-lined landing strip at the Kennedy Space Center at 6pm (Irish time).
Double sonic booms rang through central Florida as the shuttle neared the end of its trek of 6.2 million miles (10 million km) that began with its launch on October 23rd.
Commander Pamela Melroy, only the second woman in NASA's 50-year history to land a spaceship, took over manual control with 50,000 feet (15,240 metres) to go, gently steering the 100-tonne shuttle through sweeping curves to burn off speed.
"Congratulations on a tremendous mission and a great landing, Pam," astronaut Terry Virts radioed to the crew from Mission Control in Houston when Discovery rolled to a stop.