With their safe return, Discovery astronauts Brown, Kelly, Steve Smith, Mike Foale, John Grunsfeld, Jean Francois Clervoy of France and Claude Nicollier of Switzerland became the final space travelers of the 1900s. Though only the third shuttle flight of 1999, Discovery's successful mission to restore the Hubble's recently disabled pointing control system allowed NASA to bring a difficult year to a successful end. The seven astronauts were to undergo routine medical exams, meet with close family members and rest in Florida overnight before returning to their Houston area homes. Clervoy and Nicollier are assigned to NASA's astronaut core. With three of the longest spacewalks in history, the Discovery astronauts restored the Hubble's recently disabled pointing control system with the installation of six new gyroscopes and other upgrades.
Astronomers plan to resume celestial observations in about two weeks.
Those activities came to an abrupt halt in mid-November as the telescope experienced the loss of its fourth gyro in two years. The eight-day flight that covered more than 3 million miles proved pivotal for the space agency, which struggled this year to overcome setbacks in its shuttle, international space station and unmanned Mars exploration programs. Discovery lifted off on Dec. 19, after a record nine delays that spanned two months. It was the third mission in a year NASA had envisioned flying seven or eight times, most with new hardware for the U.S. led international space station. Instead, Discovery's long, often deliberate launch campaign turned into a demonstration of what shuttle program manager Ron Dittemore characterized as a new resolve by NASA to fly more safely.