NASA rolled out the red carpet Wednesday for Discovery's astronauts in Houston.

The seven astronauts arrived to a rousing welcome-home as nearly 700 people crowded an airplane hangar.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, of Texas, and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay were on hand to welcome Discovery's crew home to the city where Mission Control is located.

The astronauts actually flew back to Houston Tuesday night from their California landing site. Their families were flown to Houston from Florida, where the landing had been expected to take place.

Shuttle Commander Eileen Collins said the U.S. should continue launching shuttles until the scheduled completion of the international space station in 2010.

Officials said earlier the tired crew had been catching up on rest.

Stormy weather in Florida on Tuesday blocked a landing at Kennedy Space Center, where family members were waiting to greet the crew.

Instead, the space shuttle touched down in California at Edwards Air Force Base.

The shuttle is expected to be loaded onto the back of a special 747 and flown back to Florida in about one week.

Discovery's flight was the first mission since the Columbia disaster early in 2003. The flight included a resupply and repair of the international space station, a thorough inspection of the shuttle's exterior and the first in-flight repairs on the belly of the orbiter.

The fleet is currently grounded, however, as NASA tries to determine how to keep insulating foam from peeling from the external fuel tank during launch. A chunk of the material came off during this flight, but did no damage.

A similar piece of debris hit Columbia's left wing during ascent. It caused a crack that led to the destruction of the vehicle.