Posted: Wed, Mar 21, 2001, 5:05 AM ET (1005 GMT)
The space shuttle Discovery landed safely at the Kennedy Space Center early Thursday morning, bringing to an end mission STS-102. The shuttle touched down at 2:31 am EST (0731 GMT) on the second of two landing opportunities at KSC. The first landing attempt had been waved off earlier in the evening because of poor weather, which threatened to divert the shuttle to California for the second consecutive mission, however, conditions improved enough during the course of the evening to permit a landing. The three Expedition One crew members, returning to Earth after 141 days in space, are said to be responding well to their return to normal gravity. A press conference featuring most or all of the STS-102 crew is planned for later Wednesday morning.
