Transcription: Astronauts receive cheers
SPACE CENTER, Houston (AP) –
With fists clenched, the calm, normally stoic men of Mission Control stood as one Tuesday to cheer the return of the Columbia to space.
Flight Director Don Puddy told them they had five seconds to “vent their emotions” and then “it’s back to work.” He was only half joking.
Unlike previous United States space missions, there was no splashdown, and the ground controllers were on duty until the astronauts left the Columbia at Edwards.
When that departure was delayed, Bob Crippen quipped: “If we’re gonna get this thing operational this is one of the things we’re gonna have to work on some more.” A voice from Mission Control told Crippen that he doubted “you’ll have to wait for your luggage when you get off.”
After a medical check, a reunion with their families and brief ceremonies at Edwards, Young and Crippen headed for a NASA jet and the final leg of t heir journey home to Ellington Air Force Base, a short hop from the space center.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials said the two astronauts will undergo medical tests and perhaps a week of debriefings. They are to hold a news conference next week.
