Atlantis returns to Earth, ends space station assembly mission

<br>CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) _ Space shuttle Atlantis and its crew of six returned to Earth on Friday and ended a 4.5 million-mile journey that entailed major construction work at the international space

Friday, October 18th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) _ Space shuttle Atlantis and its crew of six returned to Earth on Friday and ended a 4.5 million-mile journey that entailed major construction work at the international space station.

The shuttle descended through a slightly cloudy sky and touched down on the runway a little before noon.

``Welcome back to Earth, and congratulations on a truly spectacular mission expanding our new home in space,'' Mission Control told commander Jeffrey Ashby and his crew.

During their 11-day mission, the shuttle astronauts successfully outfitted the space station with a $390 million girder that features a sophisticated cooling system. It was an extensive addition: The aluminum structure is 45 feet long and 15 feet wide, and its unfolded radiator reaches 75 feet.

This framework eventually will stretch 356 feet and hold more radiators and electricity-generating solar wings needed to operate future laboratories.

As Atlantis glided to a smooth landing, the space station was soaring high above the Gulf of Mexico, with its occupants marking their 135th day aloft.

Atlantis' weeklong space station visit was welcomed by the three people living aboard the orbiting complex, who had not seen anyone face-to-face since they moved in last June. Wednesday's farewell was emotional, even tearful.

``We had such a wonderful time together. ... It was really hard to say goodbye,'' said shuttle astronaut Sandra Magnus, who is a good friend of space station resident Peggy Whitson.

The 14-ton girder delivered by Atlantis _ and installed over three spacewalks _ boosted the mass of the space station to more than 180 tons.

The space station will grow 14 more tons when another girder is ferried up next month by shuttle Endeavour. An even more important payload will be the replacements for Whitson and her two Russian crewmates.

Before launching Endeavour, though, NASA wants to understand a failure in Atlantis' pyrotechnic system back on launch day.

Half of the explosive charges intended to release bolts holding the shuttle down on the pad did not fire when the countdown reached zero on Oct. 7. Only one set of explosives is needed to shatter the bolts; the other serves as a backup.

Officials said it will take a couple of weeks to access and test the suspect parts inside Atlantis.