Space Shuttle Discovery's ambitious mission to the International Space Station ended safely Wednesday when the shuttle touched down at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. With Rochester's own Pam Melroy at the helm, Discovery streaked through Florida's clear blue sky and made a picture perfect landing. The original flight plan called for a pre-dawn landing and a trek across the Caribbean, but NASA decided to go for a daylight touchdown instead, which meant flying the shuttle across the country. It was the first time a a shuttle had flown in over the United States since Columbia exploded over Texas and Louisianna in 2003. Melroy said, just like driving, it's easier to fly and make a landing in the daylight. For the astronauts, this mission was one of the toughest ever. During 15 days in space, they installed a new module on the space station, deployed and repaired solar arrays and conducted four tricky spacewalks. Pam Melroy was the commander of the mission----only the second woman to hold that responsibility. This was her third trip to space. Melroy grew up in Pittsford and attended St. Louis Elementary School and Bishop Kearney High School. Her parents live in Livingston County, and Pam says she tries to make it back to Rochester 3 to 4 times a year. Here and across the country, she is known as one of the space program's most popular ambassadors.
