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Space Shuttle Discovery glided to a smooth landing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 10:15 a.m. Saturday, June 14.  The landing signaled the end to the two-week-long STS-124 mission to the International Space Station.

Discovery touched down on Runway 15 at the Shuttle Landing Facility, completing a 5.7-million-mile journey that included delivery of the major element of Japan’s science laboratory “Kibo.” Astronaut Garrett Reisman returned home after 95 days in space – 90 of which were aboard the station.

STS-124 lifted off May 31 at 4:02 p.m. CDT on the 26th Shuttle mission dedicated to assembly and maintenance of the Station.  The mission included the delivery of the 32,558-pound Kibo and three spacewalks, totaling 20 hours, 32 minutes bringing the total for 112 spacewalks devoted to assembly to more than 706 hours.

Left behind on the Station is the Expedition 17 crew, Commander Sergei Volkov, Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko and Reisman’s replacement, Flight Engineer Greg Chamitoff, who will spend the next five months on the Station until his return home aboard Endeavour on the next Station mission scheduled for November (STS-126).

Discovery’s main landing gear touched down at 10:15:19 a.m., followed by the nose gear at 10:15:30.  Wheels stopped at 10:16:19 a.m., bringing the mission’s elapsed time to 13 days, 18 hours, 13 minutes, 7 seconds.

Discovery’s crew returned to Houston on Sunday, May 15, setting the stage for the next Shuttle mission, STS-125, scheduled to launch in October.