"Fantastic mission', but we're glad to be back : Discovery commander

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2005

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, United States (AFP) — Space Shuttle Discovery commander Eileen Collins said the gut-wrenching 14-day voyage had been "fantastic," but that she and her crew were relieved to be back on Earth.

"We have had a fantastic mission," she said in her first words after she and the six other astronauts who manned the flight returned to Earth after a space outing riddled with problems.

"We are so glad to be able to come back and say it was successful," she said as she stood in front of the giant craft at California's Edwards Air Force, adding that her crew had met their objectives for the trip.

NASA discovered shortly after the shuttle lifted off from Cape Canaveral on July 26 that a piece of insulation foam fell off the external tank after...