Shuttle Discovery lands, ending career

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Discovery ended its career as the world's most flown spaceship yesterday, returning from orbit for the last time and taking off in a new direction as a museum piece.

NASA's oldest shuttle swooped through a mostly clear noontime sky to a touchdown at its home base. "To the ship that has led the way time and time again, we say, 'Farewell, Discovery,' " radioed the Mission Control commentator.

Florida's spaceport was packed with shuttle program workers, journalists and even some schoolchildren eager to see history in the making.

The six astronauts on board went through their landing checklists with the bittersweet realization no one would ever ride Discovery again. They had been on a 13-day space station delivery mission.

Even after shuttles Endeavour and Atlantis make their final voyages in the coming months, Discovery will still hold the record with 39 missions, 148 million miles, 5,830 orbits of Earth, and 365 days spent in space. All that was achieved in under 27 years.

Discovery now leads the way to retirement as NASA winds down the 30-year shuttle program in favor of interplanetary travel.

NASA estimates it will take several months of work before Discovery is ready to head to the Smithsonian Institution. The official announcement for the shuttle's move is expected in April. It will make the 750-mile journey strapped to the top of a jumbo jet.

NASA is under presidential direction to spread its wings beyond low-Earth orbit. The goal is to send astronauts to an asteroid and then Mars in the decades ahead. There is not enough money for NASA to achieve that and maintain the shuttle program at the same time. As a result, the shuttles will stop flying this summer after 30 years.