WASHINGTON, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. space shuttle Atlantis touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9:07 a.m. EST (1407 GMT), concluding its 13-day construction flight to the International Space Station, according to NASA TV live broadcasting.

    The morning at Kennedy brought a modest layer of thin clouds and very light winds. NASA's mission control center gave the go-ahead for Atlantis' de-orbit, which slowed the shuttle down so it could enter the atmosphere and glide to the runway at Kennedy.

The U.S. space shuttle Atlantis lands at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida Feb. 20, 2008. The shuttle returned from a 13-day mission to the International Space Station.  (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    The shuttle, with seven astronauts aboard, came to a full stop safely on the runway one minute after touchdown. "Wheels stop and the STS-122 mission has ended," NASA's landing blog reported.

    "We're extremely happy to be home," shuttle commander Stephen Frick radioed to Mission Control Center.

    Atlantis arrived at the space station on Feb. 9 to deliver the long-waited European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory to the station, increasing the orbital outpost's scientific capabilities. Construction of the space laboratory, which cost close to 2 billion U.S. dollars, began in 1992.

    During the nine-day stay at the station, crews carried out three spacewalks. They successfully installed the new lab on the ISS and completed the outfitting inside and outside the lab. On the third spacewalk, astronauts attached two experiments to the exterior of the lab.

    The first is SOLAR, an observatory to monitor the sun for two years. The second science platform is European Technology Exposure Facility (EuTEF) that will carry nine experiments requiring exposure to the space environment.

    Now the Columbus lab is working well up at the station. The European Space Agency has set up a new control center near Munich, Germany, to oversee the module's daily operations.

    With Columbus aboard the ISS, station crew members and European scientists will be able to conduct a series of new scientific experiments in the fields of life, physical and material science.

The U.S. space shuttle Atlantis lands at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida Feb. 20, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Before Columbus, only the United States and Russia had their own laboratories, which make up of the main body of the ISS.

    The spacewalkers also replaced an expended nitrogen tank outside the station, and retrieved a failed control gyroscope for return to Earth.

    In addition, Atlantis delivered a new station crew member, Flight Engineer Leopold Eyharts, an ESA astronaut. He replaced astronaut Daniel Tani, who returned to Earth aboard Atlantis after almost four months on the station.

    Delays to Atlantis' launch attempts in December extended Tani's stay at the station by two extra months, during which his 90-year-old mother died in a car accident.

    "The other thing I was thinking about is my mother ... my inspiration," a tearful Tani said on undocking day, adding that he is looking forward to seeing his wife and two daughters after landing.

    This is NASA's first shuttle flight of 2008. Atlantis' landing as scheduled also cleared the way for the U.S. military to shoot down a dying spy satellite. The window for shootdown opened on Wednesday after the landing of Atlantis. The unprecedented shoot-down action may happen as early as Wednesday night.