Credit: Gene Blevins/LA Daily News See more photos here

The space shuttle Endeavour dropped out of a cloudless blue sky and settled to a tire-smoking touchdown on runway 4L at California's Edwards Air Force Base to wrap up a marathon space station assembly and maintenance mission.

With commander Christopher Ferguson and pilot Eric Boe at the controls, the black-and-white spaceplane touched down at 4:25:06 p.m. after an hour-long descent from orbit.

Barreling down the runway at more than 200 mph, Boe released a braking parachute, Ferguson dropped the hose gear to the runway and Endeavour rolled to a stop on the runway centerline a few moments later.

"Wheels stopped, Houston" Ferguson radioed.

"Copy, wheels stopped, Endeavour," replied Alan Poindexter from the Johnson Space Center. "Welcome back. It was a great way to finish a fantastic flight, Fergie."

"And we're happy to be here in California."

The shuttle pilots used temporary runway 4 because the 15,000-foot-long, 300-foot-wide runway normally used for shuttle landings was not available due to recent maintenance. While the temporary runway is 3,000 feet shorter and 100 feet narrower than the normally used landing strip, Ferguson had no problems.

"We have about 800 feet of it left, so we didn't quite use it all," Ferguson joked.

Aboard the international space station, Expedition 18 commander Michael Fincke, flight engineer Yury Lonchakov and Sandra Magnus watched the landing on television beamed up from Houston. Fincke praised the shuttle skipper for "a picture-perfect landing."

"I'd like to extend congratulatons to the crew of Endeavour and to the entire team that made that incredible home makeover mission possible," he said. "Wow, what a great crew and what a great team we have. We're really proud of everyone."

Mission duration was 15 days 20 hours 29 minutes and 37 seconds, covering some 6.6 million miles through 250 complete orbits since blastoff Nov. 14 from the Kennedy Space Center.

Ferguson, Boe, Donald Pettit, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Stephen Bowen, Robert "Shane" Kimbrough and returning space station flight engineer Gregory Chamitoff were expected to leave the orbiter within an hour or so of landing. All seven were scheduled to fly back to Houston on Monday.

Chamitoff was launched to the space station May 31, joining the Expedition 17 crew and later, Expedition 18 commander Michael Fincke and flight engineer Yury Lonchakov. He was replaced by Magnus, who took off with Endeavour's crew and remained behind aboard the station when the shuttle undocked Friday.

To ease his re-adaptation to gravity after six months in space, Chamitoff made the trip home resting on his back in a recumbent seat set up on the shuttle's lower deck. Flight surgeons were standing by to assist as needed. Asked what he was looking forward to after seeing his family again, he said "Diet Coke, pizza and Rocky Road ice cream."

"I just cannot believe six months have gone by," Chamitoff said last week. "I regret having to leave and not see the end of Expedition 18. ... And of course, I'm really happy because I'm really looking forward to seeing my family. ... All my thoughts are there now."

Thanks to a cold front in Florida where friends and family were awaiting his return, he will have to wait a little longer.

NASA managers had hoped to bring Endeavour down at the Kennedy Space Center, but high crosswinds and low clouds forced entry Flight Director Bryan Lunney to wave off two back-to-back landing opportunities. He briefly held open the option of keeping the crew in space for another Florida landing try Monday. But when forecasters concluded there was little chance for any major improvement, Lunney cleared the crew to head for California instead.

LeRoy Cain, chairman of NASA's Mission Management Team, said a diversion to California would have no major impact on NASA's processing schedule and manifest. But it will take a week or more to get the shuttle back to Florida.

Despite the unplanned diversion to Edwards, NASA managers said the flight was a near-total success, setting the stage for the agency to boost the station's crew size from three to six next May as planned.

Over the course of a marathon mission, the astronauts delivered more than 16,000 pounds of equipment and supplies, including two 1,700-pound water reprocessing racks, a new toilet, a new galley, a refrigerator, a combustion experiment rack and two sleep stations to give future astronauts a bit of privacy.

The water recycling equipment is critical to NASA's long-range plans, capable of converting condensate and urine to ultra-pure water for drinking, meal preparation, personal hygiene and oxygen generation. Vibration problems with a centrifuge in the urine processor's distillation assembly caused initial start-up problems, but the astronauts were able to resolve the issue by removing rubber vibration dampers.

Nearly two gallons of processed urine and condensate were sent home aboard Endeavour. The samples will be flown back to the Johnson Space Center in Houston as soon as possible for detailed chemical analysis to determine water purity and, in the process, collect the data necessary to help the station crew calibrate an on-board analyzer.

The station fliers plan to hook up the new toilet within the next two weeks. Water samples will be collected over the next three months to assess the system's performance and the crew of the next shuttle assembly mission, scheduled for launch Feb. 12, will use the new potty to simulate the activity of a six-member station crew. No one will actually sample any reprocessed water until testing is complete.

Along with installing the new water recycling gear, Stefanyshyn-Piper, Bowen and Kimbrough, working in two-person teams, staged four spacewalks to clean and lubricate the station's damaged right-side solar array rotary joint and to lubricate its left-side counterpart. They also removed a spent nitrogen tank, attached a spare coolant system component and readied the Japanese Kibo lab module for attachment of an external experiment platform next year.

Successfully servicing the starboard solar alpha rotary joint, or SARJ, was crucial for NASA's long range plans. The joints are used to keep outboard solar arrays face-on to the sun as the lab orbits the Earth. But the 10-foot-wide drive gear at the heart of the starboard SARJ suffered extensive damage because of a lubrication breakdown that left one of three bearing surfaces cracked and eroded.

The Endeavour spacewalkers removed 11 of 12 trundle bearing assemblies, cleaned and lubricated the bearing races and re-installed the TBAs. A post-servicing test showed the joint rotated almost as smoothly as it did when it was first installed. Additional tests and analyses are planned, but engineers are hopeful the joint can resume normal, or near-normal, operations.

With Endeavour safely back on the ground, NASA will set its sights on launching the shuttle Discovery Feb. 12 on a mission to install a final set of solar arrays on the right side of the lab's power truss.

Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR LANDS AT EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE PLAY
VIDEO: LANDING REPLAY: CAMERA 1 PLAY
VIDEO: LANDING REPLAY: CAMERA 2 PLAY
VIDEO: LANDING REPLAY: CAMERA 3 PLAY
VIDEO: LANDING REPLAY: CAMERA 4 PLAY
VIDEO: LANDING REPLAY: CAMERA LOOKING OUT PILOT'S WINDOW PLAY
VIDEO: BEHIND THE SCENES IN MISSION CONTROL PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS SURVEY SHUTTLE ON RUNWAY PLAY
VIDEO: POST-FLIGHT COMMENTS FROM THE COMMANDER PLAY

VIDEO: WEATHER RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT FLIES AT EAFB PLAY
VIDEO: DECISION MADE TO LAND IN CALIFORNIA PLAY
VIDEO: SECOND FLORIDA OPPORTUNITY WAVED OFF PLAY
VIDEO: LANDING DELAYED AT LEAST ONE ORBIT PLAY
VIDEO: PROGRESS CARGO SHIP DOCKS TO SPACE STATION PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 16 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: PICOSAT LAUNCHED FROM ENDEAVOUR PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LANDING MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY'S MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: CNN, SAN FRANCISCO, PORTLAND INTERVIEWS WITH CREW PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LANDING TESTS OF SHUTTLE'S FLIGHT CONTROLS PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS STOW SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR'S ROBOT ARM PLAY
VIDEO: UNDOCKING REPLAY AS SEEN FROM PAYLOAD BAY PLAY
VIDEO: FLIGHT DIRECTOR'S SUMMARY OF FLIGHT DAY 16 PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 15 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: ORBITER WINGS AND NOSE CAP INSPECTED PLAY
VIDEO: VIEWS OF THE SHUTTLE DURING FLYAROUND PLAY
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR UNDOCKS FROM THE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW ANIMATION OF UNDOCKING AN FLYAROUND PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 14 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: FAREWELL CEREMONY BETWEEN THE TWO CREWS PLAY
VIDEO: STUNNING VIEW OF SOUTH AND CENTRAL FLORIDA PLAY
VIDEO: THANKSGIVING CELEBRATION IN MISSION CONTROL PLAY
VIDEO: THANKSGIVING DAY MESSAGE FROM SHUTTLE CREW PLAY
VIDEO: DON PETTIT TOASTS WITH HANDMADE CUPS PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 13 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: LEONARDO MODULE RETURNED TO ENDEAVOUR PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: ANIMATION OF LEONARDO MODULE'S DETACHMENT PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: LEFT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING UPWARD PLAY
VIDEO: LEFT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING INBOARD PLAY
VIDEO: LEFT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING DOWNWARD PLAY
VIDEO: RIGHT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING UPWARD PLAY
VIDEO: RIGHT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING INBOARD PLAY
VIDEO: RIGHT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING DOWNWARD PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 12 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: MINNEAPOLIS, PORTLAND, PHILLY INTERVIEWS WITH CREW PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 11 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: NEW EXTERNAL TV CAMERA MOUNTED TO STATION PLAY
VIDEO: FINISHING THE STARBOARD SARJ CLEANING PLAY
VIDEO: PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE ON PORT SARJ PLAY
VIDEO: KIMBROUGH FLOATS OUT OF THE AIRLOCK PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 10 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEWS WITH CREW BY ABC, CBS AND NBC NEWS PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 9 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: LAST OF OLD BEARINGS REMOVED FROM SARJ PLAY
VIDEO: BOWEN INSTALLS ANOTHER BEARING ASSEMBLY PLAY
VIDEO: SARJ CLEANING TECHNIQUES TO REMOVE CONTAMINATION PLAY
VIDEO: PIPER USES GREASE GUNS ON THE SARJ PLAY
VIDEO: NEW TRUNDLE BEARING ASSEMBLY INSTALLED PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKING DUO GETS TO WORK PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALK NO. 3 BEGINS PLAY
VIDEO: WALKTHROUGH OF SPACEWALK NO. 3 PLAN PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 8 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: JOINT CREW IN-FLIGHT NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: PROTON ROCKET ROLLS OUT TO THE PAD PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH OF THE ZARYA CONTROL MODULE PLAY
VIDEO: POST-LAUNCH COMMENTS BY NASA AND RSA PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE AND STATION COMMANDERS MARK ANNIVERSARY PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 7 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: MAINTENANCE PERFORMED ON STATION'S ARM PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKERS PULL SECOND RAIL CART FREE PLAY
VIDEO: FIRST CART REMOVED FROM STATION RAILS PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: WALKTHROUGH OF SPACEWALK NO. 2 PLAN PLAY
VIDEO: FLIGHT DIRECTOR'S SUMMARY OF FLIGHT DAY 7 PLAY

VIDEO: LAUNCH CAMERA REPLAYS
VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 6 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: AP, MINNEAPOLIS AND BOSTON INTERVIEWS WITH CREW PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 5 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: RIDE ALONG WITH ASTRONAUTS "RACK-CAM" PLAY
VIDEO: COMBUSTION SCIENCE HARDWARE MOVED INTO STATION PLAY
VIDEO: AIRLOCK CAMCORDER FOOTAGE AFTER SPACEWALK PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: EVA NO. 1 CONCLUDES PLAY
VIDEO: SOLAR ALPHA ROTARY JOINT REPAIRS BEGIN PLAY
VIDEO: TOOL BAG ACCIDENTALLY FLOATS AWAY PLAY
VIDEO: GREASE GUN SPILL MAKES MESS IN TOOL CARRIER PLAY
VIDEO: SPARE FLEX HOSE COUPLER DELIVERED TO STATION PLAY
VIDEO: EMPTY NITROGEN TANK MOVED FROM STATION TO SHUTTLE PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: SHOW-AND-TELL OF SOLAR ALPHA ROTARY JOINT WORK PLAY
VIDEO: WALKTHROUGH OF SPACEWALK NO. 1 PLAN PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED ANIMATION OF SPACEWALK SWAPOUT PLAY
VIDEO: FLIGHT DIRECTOR'S SUMMARY OF FLIGHT DAY 5 PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 4 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: CREW OPENS HATCH AND ENTERS LEONARDO PLAY
VIDEO: ATLANTA AND BOSTON TV STATIONS INTERVIEW CREW PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY'S MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: LEONARDO MODULE SUCCESSFULLY MOUNTED TO STATION PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW ANIMATION OF LEONARDO MODULE ATTACHMENT PLAY
VIDEO: SUMMARY OF CARGO BEING DELIVERED TO SPACE STATION PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 3 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE CREW WELCOMED ABOARD STATION PLAY
VIDEO: SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR DOCKS TO SPACE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR PERFORMS THE 360-DEGREE BACKFLIP PLAY
VIDEO: VIEWS OF THE SHUTTLE APPROACHING FROM BELOW PLAY
VIDEO: FLIGHT DIRECTOR'S SUMMARY OF FLIGHT DAY 3 PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW ANIMATION OF RENDEZVOUS AND DOCKING PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY'S MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: FLIGHT DIRECTOR'S SUMMARY OF FLIGHT DAY 2 PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW ANIMATION OF HEAT SHIELD INSPECTIONS PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED TOUR OF ENDEAVOUR'S PAYLOAD BAY PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR BLASTS OFF! PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEFLIGHT NOW'S LAUNCH PAD CAMERA PLAY
VIDEO: THE FULL STS-126 LAUNCH EXPERIENCE PLAY
VIDEO: INSIDE MISSION CONTROL DURING LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: POST-LAUNCH NEWS BRIEFING PLAY

VIDEO: FINAL PRE-LAUNCH POLLS GIVE "GO" FOR LIFTOFF PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE'S CREW MODULE HATCH CLOSED FOR FLIGHT PLAY
VIDEO: MISSION SPECIALIST DON PETTIT BOARDS PLAY
VIDEO: MISSION SPECIALIST SHANE KIMBROUGH BOARDS PLAY
VIDEO: PILOT ERIC BOE BOARDS ENDEAVOUR PLAY
VIDEO: COMMANDER CHRIS FERGUSON BOARDS ENDEAVOUR PLAY
VIDEO: ASTROVAN TAKES CREW TO LAUNCH PAD 39A PLAY
VIDEO: CREW DEPARTS QUARTERS FOR LAUNCH PAD PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS DON SPACESUITS FOR LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED RECAP OF ENDEAVOUR'S PRE-FLIGHT CAMPAIGN PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED RECAP OF PAYLOADS' PRE-FLIGHT CAMPAIGN PLAY

VIDEO: PAD 39A SERVICE GANTRY RETRACTED FOR LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY'S COUNTDOWN STATUS AND WEATHER UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY'S PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE FOR LAUNCH PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: TUESDAY'S COUNTDOWN STATUS AND WEATHER UPDATE PLAY

VIDEO: STATION ASTRONAUTS PREPARE FOR SHUTTLE ARRIVAL PLAY
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR'S PAYLOADS READIED FOR TREK TO SPACE PLAY

VIDEO: UPDATE ON SHUTTLE AND STATION PROGRAMS PLAY
VIDEO: STS-126 MISSION OVERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW BRIEFING ON MISSION'S SPACEWALKS PLAY
VIDEO: THE ASTRONAUTS' PRE-FLIGHT NEWS BRIEFING PLAY

VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH COMMANDER CHRIS FERGUSON PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH PILOT ERIC BOE PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS1 HEIDEMARIE PIPER PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS2 STEPHEN BOWEN PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS3 DON PETITT PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS4 SHANE KIMBROUGH PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH MS5 SANDY MAGNUS PLAY

VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH SPACE STATION'S EXPEDITION 17 CREW PLAY

VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR COMMANDER AND PILOT PRACTICE LANDINGS PLAY

VIDEO: ISS PROGRAM MANAGER UPDATES SOYUZ INVESTIGATION PLAY
VIDEO: ISS PROGRAM MANAGER DESCRIBES SARJ REPAIR PLAN PLAY
VIDEO: ISS PROGRAM MANAGER DISCUSSES RADIATOR DAMAGE PLAY
VIDEO: EXPEDITION 18 PRE-FLIGHT MISSION BRIEFING PLAY

VIDEO: AERIAL VIEWS OF ATLANTIS AND ENDEAVOUR PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR AT SUNRISE ON LAUNCH PAD 39B PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: AERIAL VIEWS OF ENDEAVOUR AFTER ROLLOUT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR ROLLS FROM VAB TO LAUNCH PAD PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE MOVIE OF ARRIVAL AT PAD 39B PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE MOVIE OF ENDEAVOUR LEAVING VAB PLAY

VIDEO: SHUTTLE HOISTED FOR ATTACHMENT TO TANK PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR'S DEPARTURE FROM HANGAR PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE MOVIE OF ENDEAVOUR GOING VERTICAL PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE MOVIE OF BEING HOISTED OFF TRANSPORTER PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE MOVIE OF ENDEAVOUR MOVING TO VAB PLAY
MORE: STS-126 VIDEO COVERAGE
SUBSCRIBE NOW