STS-114 "Discovery" (26 July – 9 August 2005) was the Return to Flight mission following the "Columbia" accident during which the crew continued the assembly of the International Space Station. Thomas tested and evaluated new procedures for flight safety and inspection and repair techniques for the Shuttle's thermal protection system. After a 2-week, 5.8 million mile journey in space, the orbiter "Discovery" and its crew returned to land at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Mission duration was 333 hours, 32 minutes, 48 seconds.