EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven astronauts safely returned to Earth on Sunday, taking a detour to sunny California after storms hit the main landing strip in Florida.
Endeavour wrapped up a 16-day trip that left the international space station freshly remodeled and capable of housing bigger crews. The shuttle dropped off all kinds of home-improvement equipment, including a new bathroom, a kitchenette, an exercise machine, two sleeping quarters and a recycling system designed to convert astronauts’ urine and sweat into drinking water.
When Endeavour hurtled over Los Angeles, firefighters responded to a report of an explosion that turned out to have been the spacecraft’s signature sonic boom. The Associated Press
