Discovery docks at international space station

The space shuttle Discovery safely docked at the international space station on Tuesday, a welcome smooth maneuver during a mission that was delayed by a gas leak and threatened by hurtling chunks of space junk. Discovery’s seven-member crew, which lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on Sunday night, will deliver supplies needed to expand the space station’s capacity, doubling the number of people who can live there from three to six

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Satellite debris expected within half a mile of space station

A piece of an old Soviet-era satellite spinning through space could threaten the International Space Station overnight, NASA said Monday. On its current course, the piece of the Russian Kosmos 1275 will arrive about a half a mile (.79 kilometers) from the space station at 2:14 a.m. CDT Tuesday, said Bill Jeffs, a spokesman at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

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Countdown to NASA search for Earth-like planets

The U.S. space agency NASA will launch its first ever mission Friday to find Earth-like planets in our region of the Milky Way. Scientists will be holding their breath as the Kepler spacecraft — mounted with the biggest telescope ever to be launched into space — lifts off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

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Are top female tennis players overpaid?

The polite hush that descends on the crowd seconds before service is nowhere to be heard when it comes to the issue of equal prize money in women’s tennis. It may be two years since Wimbledon and the French Open joined the other major tournaments in offering women the same cash prize as men, but for some tennis fans the issue is far from resolved. “Admit it sisters,” screamed one recent headline on Australian Web site AdelaideNow, “this is not equal.” The author went on: “Political correctness, sexual equality and feminism all prevent many commentators from stating the bleeding obvious …

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Russian, U.S. satellites collide in space

Two satellites, one Russian and one American, have collided some 800 kilometers (500 miles) above Siberia, the Russian and U.S. space agencies, said Thursday. The collision on Tuesday produced two large debris clouds, NASA said

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