This is interesting — a speech that President Nixon never had to give, thankfully:

White House “Lost In Space” Scenarios

While yesterday’s attempts to bring Discovery was thwarted by bad weather in Florida, NASA gave Discovery the OK to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and land. Again though, weather was a problem in Florida, and they ended up landing in California at Edwards Air Force Base. A third location could have been used as well — White Sands in New Mexico.

It’s amazing and hard to fathom — just how fast that thing is capable of flying both in and out of the atmosphere.

This is a minute-by-minute account of STS-114’s return to Earth:

Virtual Launch Control Center - Safe Return of STS-114 (Discovery & Crew)