Posted: Tue, May 1, 2001, 1:21 PM ET (1721 GMT)
The space shuttle Endeavour successfully landed in California Tuesday after weather forced the shuttle to divert from a planned Florida landing. Endeavour touched down at Edwards Air Force Base, California at 12:10 pm EDT (1610 GMT), completing mission STS-100. The shuttle had been scheduled to land at the Kennedy Space Center but clouds, wind, and rain at the Florida landing site required shuttle managers to wave off two landing attempts there and opt instead for the Edwards landing, which took place under good weather conditions. The landing is the third time in the last five missions that weather has forced the shuttle to divert to Edwards after a string of consecutive landings in Florida lasting four and a half years. The California landing will add a week to the shuttle's processing time, and cost NASA about $1 million, as the shuttle is ferried back to Florida atop a 747.
