October 19, 2011
The STS-124 mission crew addresses the media after their successful landing aboard Space Shuttle Discovery on runway 15 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The landing ended a 14-day mission to the International Space Station. From the left are NASA astronauts Ken Ham, pilot; Karen Nyberg and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, both mission specialists; NASA astronauts Mark Kelly, commander; Mike Fossum and Ron Garan, both mission specialists. Discovery's main landing gear touched down at 11:15:19 a.m. (EDT) on June 14, 2008. The nose landing gear touched down at 11:15:30 a.m. and wheel stop was at 11:16:19 a.m. During the mission, Discovery's crew installed the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's large Kibo laboratory and its remote manipulator system leaving a larger space station and one with increased science capabilities.
Topics: Disaster Accident, Akihiko Hoshide, STS-124, Spaceflight, Mark E. Kelly, Ronald J. Garan, Jr., STS-7, Edwards Air Force Base, STS-121, Space Shuttle program, Environment, Technology Internet, STS-124 mission