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 The family of Minnesota's first woman in space breathed a big
sigh of relief as space shuttle Atlantis landed safely Thursday at
the Kennedy Space Center.

      St. Paul native Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper was among the crew
of six astronauts who flew to the international space station to
deliver a new set of solar panels.

      "A big storm went off my heart. I was worried about the
landing," Stefanyshyn-Piper's mother, Adelheid, told The
Associated Press after watching Atlantis make a smooth, predawn
landing.

      "I'm glad she's back," her mother added.

      A brother, Paul Stefanyshyn, said the landing was "pretty
cool," and that the family is glad that everything went well for
the shuttle and its crew.

      "I felt pretty confident," he said. "I had a good feeling."

      The landing was a day later than planned. After the astronauts
spotted some mysterious objects floating outside the orbiter, NASA
ordered up more inspections of the spacecraft's heat shielding to
make sure it was safe to come home.

      Stefanyshyn-Piper, 43, a 1980 graduate of Derham Hall high
school in St. Paul, was the only girl in a family of four boys. Her
mother said she always wanted to prove she was better than her
brothers.

      Stefanyshyn-Piper and the rest of the shuttle crew performed
three spacewalks during a challenging mission that included adding
a 17½-ton truss addition to the space station that will help power
the orbiting lab.

      It was the first construction work done on the station since the
Columbia disaster 3½ years ago.

Gallery

Love of flying machines propelled Minnesota native to shuttle job

St. Paul native is on way to space station

The space shuttle Atlantis landed safely Thursday at the Kennedy Space Center. St. Paul native Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper was among the crew of six astronauts who flew to the international space station.

Family of St. Paul astronaut relieved by safe shuttle landing

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