Shuttle landing: Atlantis returns safely

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida -- Space shuttle Atlantis and its seven astronauts are back on Earth.

Photo Gallery: Space Shuttle Atlantis Landing

The shuttle landed at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday morning, swooping through a clear sky. It was a chilly homecoming: The temperature was in the low 50s.

According to NASA, at 8:37 a.m., space shuttle Atlantis performed the deorbit burn, setting it on a course to return to Kennedy Space Center. The maneuver occurred while Atlantis was about 220 miles above Indonesia and slowed Atlantis by more than 200 miles per hour.

Entry interface, the point at which Atlantis began entering the Earth's atmosphere, occured at 9:12 a.m. The first roll reversal to slow the spacecraft took place at 9:28 a.m. and Merritt Island radar tracking systems acquired the shuttle at 9:31 a.m.

Atlantis crossed the Florida coast south of Bonita Springs and passed north of Lake Okeechobee, triggering dual sonic booms at about 9:40 a.m. as it slowed to subsonic speeds.

Commander Charlie Hobaugh lined up Atlantis with Kennedy's southeast to northwest runway 33, and touchdown came at about 9:44 a.m.

The touchdown ended an 11-day flight for Atlantis. The astronauts spent a week stockpiling the International Space Station with big spare parts.

For Clearwater native Nicole Stott, it's the end of a three-month station mission. She can't wait to see her husband and 7-year-old son, and eat pizza.

Fellow astronaut Randolph Bresnik has even bigger plans: to hold his newborn daughter for the first time. But he'll have to wait until Saturday. Wife Rebecca stayed home in Houston with their daughter and young son.