The US space shuttle Endeavour, with seven crew members on board, landed at Cape Canaveral in Florida early today after a 16-day mission to the International Space Station.
The crew delivered part of a Japanese laboratory to the station and assembled a Canadian-made robot to help with maintenance.
Endeavour landed at the Kennedy Space Center shortly after midnight Irish time, 90 minutes later than scheduled after an initial landing was postponed due to poor weather.
NASA wants to complete construction of the ISS by 2010, when its three-shuttle fleet is scheduled to be retired.
The European Space Agency's robot cargo rocket is expected to become the principal access to the station after that.
