Three crew members of the international space station had a close call with space junk on Thursday and were forced to take shelter in the Russian Soyuz capsule.
Two astronauts from the US shuttle Endeavour on Thursday began the first of a series of spacewalks to install Japan's maiden laboratory at the International Space Station, according to NASA.
Acting on Moscow's directive to drop its first choice to go aboard a Russian spacecraft, South Korea has named Yi So-yeon, a female mechanical engineer to become the country's first person in space.
The new European Columbus science module was removed from the Atlantis space shuttle and attached to the International Space Station.
The Atlantis space shuttle, which was launched yesterday, continued to sail smoothly as it headed towards the International Space Station for the long-awaited delivery of a European laboratory.
Atlantis space shuttle was launched on Thursday from its seaside Florida launch pad, at about 2:45 p.m., making the mission successful after a two failed attempts last year in December and uncertainty of the weather before the launch that would have halted the mission for the third time.
The Atlantis space shuttle is set for launching later today after NASA announced it had finished all the preparations for the mission to deliver Europe's first permanent space laboratory to the International Space Station.
NASA announced on Friday that space shuttle Atlantis will be launched February 7, after a delay due to technical problems.
The Launching of Atlantis space shuttle was delayed until Saturday, on allegations of problems associated with fuel sensors.
The space shuttle Atlantis and Europe's Columbus lab is poised for a Thursday lift-off to the International Space Station
NASA has cleared the way for the Atlantis shuttle launch next week on a mission to equip the space station with a new science lab.
Crew members aboard the International Space Station on Monday used a robotic crane to reposition the space shuttle's docking port, a key step toward preparing the complex for the arrival of Europe's science laboratory next month.
