EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., June 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. space shuttle Atlantis touched down on Friday in California's Mojave Desert after rain and thick clouds prevented it from returning to its home port in Florida.

Safely back from a two-week mission to the International Space Station, the shuttle and seven astronauts landed at Edwards Air Force Base, its backup landing site, at 3:49 p.m. EDT (1949 GMT), after a fiery descent through Earth's atmosphere.

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