EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. " The astronauts from the space shuttle Endeavour headed for a delayed reunion with their families Monday in Houston a day after touching down safely in California following a nearly 16-day mission to repair and upgrade the international space station.
Stormy weather at the shuttle's main Florida landing site forced controllers to divert Endeavour and its crew of seven astronauts across the country to Edwards Air Force Base, where it glided to Earth at 4:25 p.m. EST Sunday.
"It's great to be back on the ground, and it's great to be in California," shuttle commander Christopher Ferguson said, standing with three of his crew members on the tarmac near the shuttle.
The shuttle program's 124th mission remodeled the space station, doubled its crew capacity to six and repaired a rotating joint on a solar wing.