Space Shuttle Lands Safely
Associated Press
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — Space shuttle Atlantis landed on a concrete runway at this desert air base today, returning from a week in orbit and a historic first test of construction techniques that will help shape an American space station.
Atlantis, with its seven-member crew, blazed through the Earth’s atmosphere in a long, fiery glide from a 218 mile-high orbit, crossed the California coastline north of Los Angeles and touched down at 1:34 p.m. under partly cloudy skies. Five thousand spectators were on hand to watch the landing.
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