Discovery Roars to Space Station Docking

Bottle will remain sealed, hit museums

(NEWSER) - The Discovery crew will leave the International Space Station today for the first of two spacewalks—and one of their missions is to capture a sample of space in a metal bottle. The bottle will be given to Japan's space agency, which says it will remain sealed and make the museum rounds to provide "a conduit between humans and space." The astronauts will also put some finishing touches on the space station, the Christian Science Monitor reports. More»

'A giant leap forward for tinmankind'

(NEWSER) - International Space Station astronauts won't need to worry about the newest crew member hogging the oxygen or clogging the toilet. Robonaut 2 will become the first humanoid robot in space when he heads to the station this week on the space shuttle Discovery's final mission, AP reports. "R2" will be put through a series of tests before being put to work helping astronauts with chores inside and outside the station. More»

14-day mission ends on West Coast after poor weather scrubs Florida attempt again

(NEWSER) - After bad weather kept it from heading to Florida for the second consecutive day, the space shuttle Discovery touched down safely in California moments ago, Space.com reports. The crew returns after a 14-day mission that including resupplying and repairing the International Space Station. More»

(NEWSER) - The shuttle Discovery detached from the International Space Station today and began its journey home to Earth, Space.com reports. The 13-day mission help resupply and repair the station; the seven crewmembers are scheduled to return to Florida’s Kennedy Space Center at 7:05pm Thursday. More»

(AP) - NASA kept close tabs today on an old piece of space junk that threatened to come too close to the international space station as the shuttle Discovery raced toward the outpost for a 220-mile-high linkup. Experts initially warned that the debris from a Soviet satellite that broke up in 1981 could veer within a half-mile of the space station. But they later said it appeared that the 4-inch piece of junk might remain at a safe distance. More»