Atlantis and its seven astronauts returned to Earth safely on Friday at 3:49 p.m. EDT, ending a two-week mission to deliver an addition to the International Space Station and bring a crew member home from the outpost. NASA managers had hoped skies would clear for one of two landing opportunities at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, but dense clouds and rain forced controllers to abandon that plan. NASA had to forego two landing opportunities in Florida on Thursday as well because of bad weather.
Astronaut Sunita Williams returned to Earth on Atlantis after spending more than six months at the space station. She set an endurance record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman at 195 days. During her stay, she also set the record for most time spacewalking by a woman.