Astronauts aboard the space shuttle Endeavour wrapped up a 16-day mission to prepare the International Space Station for its first six-member crew with a flawless touchdown at NASA’s backup landing site in California.

Double-sonic booms blasted through the Mojave Desert as Endeavour dipped below the speed of sound for the first time since its November 14 launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA had hoped Endeavour would land there as well, but bad weather spurred flight controllers to divert the crew to the Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Commander Chris Ferguson steered the shuttle through in a series of sweeping curves to burn off speed before gently guiding the 100-ton ship onto a runway at 4:25 pm EST (21:25 GMT) to complete NASA’s fourth and final mission of the year.