American pride received a boost – as did scientific space accomplishment in. successful completion Tuesday of the eight-day orbital voyage of the space shuttle Columbia. The 105-ton winged rocket plane swooped into sight over surrounding mountains and landed on the Northrup Strip of the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico as 5,000 spectators cheered. The return had been delayed one day because of high winds and swirling dust clouds at the landing site, Astronauts Jack Lousma and Gordon Fullerton emerged from the plane apparently in good condition. Preliminary reports indicated Columbia lived up to expectations as the space workhorse of the future, its 50-foot cargo boom worked flawlessly, the astronants said. Experiements went well and the ship itself proved more resistant than expected to extremes of heat and cold in space. TV cameras sent back a week-long “travelogue” views of the United States during the 12-minutes or so it took Columbia to sweep from coast to coast. Altogether. Lousma and Fullerton conducted 14 scientific and technological experiments. Only one instrument – to monitor the sun’s ultraviolet radiation – failed to perform. The spacecraft covered 3.9 million miles and circled the earth 129 times after blasting off from Cape Canaveral, Fla. March 22. The astronauts fired the two braking rockets 150 miles above Australia and flew over the Pacific Coast at about 9,000 MPH. Flexibility of the craft was demonstrated by both the one-day landing delay and the earlier decision to land at White Sands when heavy rains disqualified Edwards Air Base, Calif., the originally-designated arrival field. Cape Canaveral was strongly considered as a second alternate landing site in case weather again made the Northmp Strip hazardous. But this further demonstration of versatility proved unnecessary. It is reassuring that such mid-course options are available in the interest of safety. Evaluations will reveal the full impact of engineering and scientific accomplishments of the third Columbia flight and uncover problems that need correction. Astronaut health factors will be studied in medical tests. But initially the space freighter’s mission is being hailed as highly successful. A fourth flight is scheduled in late June or early July. In November, with four people aboard, Columbia is to retum to space and launch two satellites. From its beginning, the space shuttle program has given America something to cheer about. Future flights will be watched with keen interest.