NASA is delaying a risky spacewalk to repair a torn solar wing panel on the International Space Station.
The delay will give Mission Control at Johnson Space Center until Saturday to refine instructions for the unprecedented operation. Discovery crew members will also use the time to improvise repair devices from inside the space station laboratory.
The spacewalk was originally planned for Friday to repair a solar panel that ripped as it was being unfurled earlier this week. The torn solar wing can still provide power, but it poses a structural problem while it remains partially deployed.
More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/01/nasa_delays_spacewalk_solar_tear/
The space shuttle Discovery has uncoupled from the International Space Station and is heading back to Earth, after an eventful 11 day stay in orbit.
The shuttle's journey home will take two days, and it is scheduled to land back at Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Wednesday afternoon.
More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/05/discovery_heads_home/