Space shuttle begins gliding back to Earth

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - The space shuttle Endeavour fired its braking rockets and left orbit on Sunday, beginning an hourlong glide to California after finishing a marathon home-improvement mission at the International Space Station.

Bad weather prevented Endeavour from landing at its home port in Florida, so NASA diverted the spaceship to its backup landing site at Edwards Air Force Base in the California desert. Touchdown is scheduled for 4:25 p.m. (2125 GMT).

(Reporting by Irene Klotz; editing by Jane Sutton)