Wheels stop; Welcome back

[krpalmer]

After an extra day in orbit, space shuttle Atlantis has landed. The added inspections (and shift away from "was that stuff falling off vital?" to "space junk is an issue to consider") may have added some tension to the end of the mission, but after the long "back to the drawing board" pause between STS-114 and STS-121, things may be becoming just a little more "routine." The TV news coverage that I watched along the way may have been focusing on Canadian astronaut Steve MacLean. Of course, "routine" can be something of a dark word among space buffs, who want missions to be well-promoted (and for there to be more and different missions than there are now) so long as they go well. Even so, the space station is now lopsided again, and looking a little more like it's "supposed" to.