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- On Saturday, July 22, 1995, 7:30 a.m. CDT, STS-70 MCC Status Report # 18 reports:
- After almost nine days in space, the STS-70 crew returned home to Florida this morning to complete a mission that included a successful satellite deployment and work with a variety of middeck experiments.
- STS-70 Commander Tom Henricks brought Discovery smoothly down on Runway 33 at the Kennedy Space Center.at 7:02 a.m. CDT, ending the 70th flight of the Space Shuttle system at a mission elapsed time of eight days, 22 hours and 21 minutes. The landing occurred on the second Florida deorbit and landing opportunity of the day. Even though weather looked good for the first opportunity, flight controllers opted to pass on it to allow weather conditions to improve even more.
- Discovery performed flawlessly during its descent to Earth, as has been the case throughout its 21st flight. Discovery will now be prepared to be transported to California for a routine inspection and maintenance period.
- The STS-70 crew will return to Houston later today. The five astronauts are expected to arrive at Ellington Field at about 5 p.m. today. The public is invited to attend the traditional welcoming ceremonies at NASA's Hangar 990 at the north end of the airfield.
- Disassembly of the RSRM factory joint after landing identified that the solid rocket boster (SRB) motor factory joint experienced an o-ring problem similar to what was discovered on STS-71 (after STS-70 launched). This will impact the launch date of STS-69.
Return to STS-70 Mission Summary - On Saturday, July 22, 1995, 7:30 a.m. CDT, STS-70 MCC Status Report # 18 reports: