Cape Canaveral - The US space shuttle Atlantis glided to a smooth touchdown in Florida yesterday, bringing home astronaut Michael Foale after a difficult 4 1/2-month mission to Mir. Atlantis was returning from an 11-day mission during which Mr Foale was replaced on Mir by astronaut David Wolf.
It was the first taste of gravity for Mr Foale since blasting off in May on an eventful mission to the Russian space station Mir. His return to earth was delayed by a day because of poor weather at the Florida spaceport.
During his tour of duty on Mir the 40-year-old British-born astrophysicist faced a life-threatening collision, power shortages and computer failures that caused Mir to drift in space.