EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, the United States, Aug. 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Discovery Commander Eileen Collins, who became the world's first female shuttle pilot in 1995, said she is happy to be back on earth as the shuttle's mission successfully ended early Tuesday.

    "We're happy to be back and we congratulate the whole team for ajob well done," she told NASA mission control via radio transmission upon the shuttle's touchdown at 1212 GMT at NASA's secondary landing site at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

    By commanding this historical flight, Collins adds another title to her string of "firsts."

    In the latest mission, the 48-year-old retired Air Force colonel performed unprecedented twist-and-flip maneuvers so shuttle Discovery's belly could be photographed by NASA experts for possible damage during the flight.

    Collins' 1995 flight as the first female shuttle pilot aroused great public interests and earned her a place in US National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York.

    Her debut as a shuttle commander in 1999 drew the then First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and her daughter Chelsea to the Florida launch site to see her fly.

    The latest flight is her fourth shuttle mission and probably herlast.

    "I love being in space. It's magical up here," she once said.

    While aboard Discovery, Collins was said to e-mail her young daughter and son every day. Enditem