Its mission over but hardly accomplished, the crew of the space shuttle Columbia returned Friday to a lukewarm welcome and an inquiry into the bungled release of a satellite.
Kevin Kregel, the mission commander, tried to make the best of it. “We had a very interesting and eventful 16 days,” he said, before adding, “We had a little bit of downtrodden times there.”
The shuttle and its international crew of six glided through a clear, chilly sky just after dawn, bringing back the $10 million Spartan satellite that got away from them and required a daring spacewalk rescue.
The sun-watching satellite never received a crucial computer command before it was released Nov. 21 from Columbia, either because of crew error or faulty software.
Mission Control skipped the customary congratulations, saying only, “Welcome home, Columbia. Excellent landing.”
