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Cape Canaveral:
US space shuttle Atlantis has landed in California. The space shuttle was to land in Florida, but was diverted to California due to bad weather as the shuttle's home base in Florida made it too risky for a touchdown.
After 12 days, 21 hours and 37 minutes in flight, the shuttle, with its crew of seven astronauts, landed at the air base, 160 km northeast of Los Angeles.
Bad weather and crosswinds pushed back Florida landing tries for three days before NASA opted for the California landing. The craft had enough fuel and supplies to be aloft until Monday at the latest.
NASA decided to send Atlantis and its seven astronauts to the backup landing site at Edwards Air Force Base after their successful Hubble Space Telescope repair mission.
Mission Control passed up Sunday's first landing opportunity at Kennedy Space Centre because of storm clouds offshore. The astronauts took an extra swing around the world as flight controllers kept watch on the weather.
Mission Control waited as long as possible before making the call for California. The 13-day mission was the last ever to Hubble.
Floodwaters had been waist-deep in the worst-hit parts of Volusia County, which authorities identified as Daytona Beach, Smyrna Beach, New Smyrna Beach, Holly Hill and Port Orange.
Saturday marked the sixth straight day rains fell in the area, where Governor Charlie Crist had a day earlier declared a state of emergency for 11 counties.
(With AP inputs)
After 12 days, 21 hours and 37 minutes in flight, the shuttle, with its crew of seven astronauts, landed at the air base, 160 km northeast of Los Angeles.
Bad weather and crosswinds pushed back Florida landing tries for three days before NASA opted for the California landing. The craft had enough fuel and supplies to be aloft until Monday at the latest.
NASA decided to send Atlantis and its seven astronauts to the backup landing site at Edwards Air Force Base after their successful Hubble Space Telescope repair mission.
Mission Control passed up Sunday's first landing opportunity at Kennedy Space Centre because of storm clouds offshore. The astronauts took an extra swing around the world as flight controllers kept watch on the weather.
Mission Control waited as long as possible before making the call for California. The 13-day mission was the last ever to Hubble.
Floodwaters had been waist-deep in the worst-hit parts of Volusia County, which authorities identified as Daytona Beach, Smyrna Beach, New Smyrna Beach, Holly Hill and Port Orange.
Saturday marked the sixth straight day rains fell in the area, where Governor Charlie Crist had a day earlier declared a state of emergency for 11 counties.
(With AP inputs)
