With Commander Chris Ferguson and pilot Eric Boe at the controls, space shuttle Endeavour descended to a smooth landing at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The STS-126 crew members concluded their successful mission to the International Space Station when the shuttle touched down at 4:25 p.m. EST.

Endeavour arrived at the station Nov. 16, delivering equipment that will help allow the station to double its crew size to six. In addition, the STS-126 astronauts delivered Expedition 18 Flight Engineer Sandra Magnus, who replaced Greg Chamitoff, now a mission specialist who returned to Earth aboard Endeavour.

Endeavour's seven astronauts hoped to land at the Kennedy Space Center, where their families are waiting for them, but winds and storm clouds were strong possibilities at the landing site. As a backup site, NASA managers activated the runway at Edwards Air Force base in California.

As for the much-talked about heat shield, NASA managers on Saturday cleared Endeavour for a return home, after examining images from a late inspection on the ship's shield.

After 250 orbits of Earth, STS-126 has concluded safely with space shuttle Endeavour executing a perfect entry and landing at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center.

"That was a great way to end a fantastic flight," Capcom Alan Poindexter radioed the crew from Mission Control.

The astronauts aboard the shuttle have about an hour of duties in front of them to “safe” the vehicle so technicians can get it ready to move into its protective orbiter processing facility.