Atlantis returned to Earth safely

The Atlantis spacecraft landed yesterday in a parking lot in California, USA, after successfully performing the mission to upgrade the Hubble telescope in orbit.

Atlantis landed in California yesterday.Photo: AFP.

After three days of delayed weather, Atlantis and seven crew members returned to Earth, at an air base about 160 km northeast of Los Angeles.

Before that, NASA canceled the Atlantis ship's plan to land in Florida because of the bad weather. The big storm caused Atlantis to not land for three days in a row while the reserve of fuel was only the latest available today.

If Atlantis landed in Florida, NASA saved $ 2 million in costs of carrying a ship from California to Florida with Boeing 747 dedicated transport aircraft.

The commander of the plane Scott Altman said shortly after landing: "I did not think it would be so hard to return to Earth. We were very moved by the mission completed and it clearly showed cooperation and common strength of all partners across the country ".

The Atlantis and seven astronauts left the launch pad at Florida's Kennedy Space Center on May 11. Astronauts made five space walks to install a new control dial, battery and insulation for Hubble glass. This activity extends the life of the planet's largest space telescope to at least 2014, as well as improving its vision in the universe.