Discovery space shuttle

(Newser) - With one eye on potentially disastrous weather, NASA is preparing to launch its most ambitious space mission ever tomorrow, reports the Orlando Sentinel. The launch is a go despite an independent safety board's recommendation to delay because of hairline cracks in Discovery's wing panels. NASA says the cracks lie within...

(Newser) - Astronauts aboard the space shuttle Discovery will have a bit of extra protection on their next mission: Luke Skywalker's original light saber from 1977's Star Wars. Lucasfilm has loaned the prop—in real life not much more than a slick flashlight—to NASA for the shuttle's launch this October, reports...

(Newser) - Love-lorn Lisa Nowak made history again Wednesday, when she became the first astronaut ever to get a pink slip from NASA. The space agency remanded her to the U.S. Navy, for whom she was officially on assignment at NASA.