Sunday: September 10, 2000   1141 GMT Atlantis returns to station with flawless docking Streaking through space at five miles per second, the 120-ton shuttle Atlantis gently docked with the 67-ton international space station today, capping a two-day orbital ballet that began with the shuttle's thundering liftoff Friday from the Kennedy Space Center.    FULL STORY    MISSION STATUS CENTER    EXPLANATION OF DOCKING SEQUENCE    DOCKING TIMELINE    UPDATED FLIGHT PLAN Choose from this menu:       Mars-friendly building materials developed With human exploration of Mars within reach, a college professor and NASA have been developing bricks that future travelers will use for protection against the harsh radiation that bombards the Red Planet.    FULL STORY DAILY BRIEFING  Other stories making news today Russians reset launch of five small satellites atop missile -- After two postponements in late August of the Dnepr-1 rocket, a converted Soviet SS-18, ISC Kosmotras officials say that the launch is now back on track for a liftoff later this month. Saturday: September 9, 2000   1408 GMT Atlantis heads for late-night space station rendezvous The shuttle Atlantis closed in on the international space station today while the astronauts checked out their rendezvous computers, activated the shuttle's docking system and tested the spacesuits that will be used Monday during a planned spacewalk.    FULL STORY    EXPLANATION OF DOCKING SEQUENCE    DOCKING TIMELINE    MISSION STATUS CENTER Choose from this menu:       Scientists try to understand Jupiter's turbulent winds Waves of up-and-down winds that span great ranges in air pressure may explain the surprisingly clear, dry areas near Jupiter's equator, new research based on data from NASA's Galileo entry probe indicates.    FULL STORY Friday: September 8, 2000   1257 GMT Atlantis rockets into orbit The shuttle Atlantis dodged coastal showers and blasted into orbit today, setting off after the international space station and kicking off the most ambitious shuttle launch schedule since the pre-Challenger era.    FULL STORY    MISSION STATUS CENTER    VIDEO: SHUTTLE ATLANTIS LIFTS OFF Choose from this menu:       Hubble unveils the nature of a dusty galaxy The Hubble Space Telescope has made the first detailed optical observations of a remarkable class of galaxies. Although extremely luminous, the galaxies are obscured by enormous quantities of dust -- the smoky residue of the life cycle of massive stars.    FULL STORY Ulysses probes the Sun's polar cap The Ulysses spacecraft, on a mission to explore the Sun at extreme latitudes, this week begins its investigation of the Sun's south polar region as the star reaches solar maximum, a time of heightened activity.    FULL STORY DAILY BRIEFING  Other stories making news today Atlantis carries first ham radio for space station -- When astronauts, cosmonauts and payload specialists from many nations fly on the International Space Station, they will have Amateur Radio as a constant companion. The first amateur radio for the outpost will be delivered by shuttle Atlantis. Student experiments among first delivered to station -- Students from middle and high schools across America are helping with the first long-duration experiment that astronauts will place aboard the International Space Station this week when the Space Shuttle Atlantis heads back to the unique, orbiting laboratory. Bubble gum in kid's experiments aboard Atlantis -- Space shuttle mission STS-106 will be carrying the hopes and experiments of more than 300 St. Louis area K-12 students, courtesy of a School of Engineering outreach program involving Washington University undergraduate students and engineers. Thursday: September 7, 2000   0501 GMT Hubble reveals mysterious layers of planetary nebula Glowing like a multi-faceted jewel, the planetary nebula IC 418 lies about 2,000 light-years from Earth. This photograph from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captures the remarkable textures seen in the nebula, their origin still uncertain.    FULL STORY Mars Pathfinder is filling in new NASA 'donut picture' By combining three image mosaics, scientists have generated a donut-shaped picture with an overhead view of NASA's highly successfully and hugely popular Mars Pathfinder lander and Sojourner rover on the surface of the Red Planet.    FULL STORY Rumble from the jungle: Ariane 4 rocket blasts off Continuing its dramatic surge in launches through the end of 2000, Arianespace successfully lofted a European communications satellite Wednesday in what is planned to be the first of three Ariane rocket flights over the next 20 days.    FULL STORY    MISSION STATUS CENTER Only weather threatening Friday's shuttle launch Engineers are readying the shuttle Atlantis for fueling late tonight and blastoff early Friday on a critical mission to outfit and activate the international space station. With no technical problems at pad 39B, the only question mark is the weather.    FULL STORY    MISSION STATUS CENTER [Updated: 2130 GMT] Russian economic troubles still cloud space station As NASA gears up to launch the shuttle Atlantis Friday on a space station outfitting mission, the Russian Space Agency is at loggerheads with the Russian Ministry of Finance over funding for nine critical station flights in 2001.    FULL STORY Choose from this menu:       Lightning bolt strikes shuttle launch pad A bolt of lightning blasted from a thunderstorm cloud Tuesday night and struck the launch pad where space shuttle Atlantis is being prepped for its liftoff Friday. The $2 billion spaceplane was not damaged.    FULL STORY Wednesday: September 6, 2000   0220 GMT New observatory opens, views stunning nebula It was a historical moment Sunday night at the Paranal Observatory, after nearly 15 years of hard work, when an 8.2-m telescope was opened for business. Some of the first astronomical exposures taken included a planetary nebula over 6,000 light years away.    FULL STORY Countdown begins ticking for Friday's shuttle launch Countdown clocks at the Kennedy Space Center began ticking today toward the shuttle Atlantis's blastoff Friday on a mission to outfit and activate the international space station, paving the way for arrival of the lab's first full-time crew in November.    FULL STORY    MISSION STATUS CENTER Choose from this menu:       Ariane 4 to loft European communications satellite It is launch day in the South American jungle where an Arianespace Ariane 44LP rocket is poised to carry the W1 spacecraft into Earth orbit for the European Telecommunications Satellite Organization.    MISSION STATUS CENTER DAILY BRIEFING  Other stories making news today Chemists find primordial meteorite in a class by itself -- A chemical analysis of a rare, uncontaminated 4.5 billion-year-old meteorite that fell to Earth earlier this year shows that its composition sets it apart from other meteorites found on Earth, giving scientists a glimpse of the solar system that has not been seen before. Galileo taking furthest looping orbit around Jupiter -- NASA's Galileo spacecraft reaches apojove this week and starts its journey back to the heart of the Jupiter system. Apojove is the farthest point from Jupiter for a given orbit, which will be 12.9 million miles and the most distant since the craft's arrival at Jupiter in December 1995. Tuesday: September 5, 2000   1230 GMT Radio broadcasting satellite launched by Proton rocket Americans are a step closer to receiving digital radio programming via satellite with today's successful launch of a Russian Proton rocket half a world away in Central Asia.    FULL STORY    MISSION STATUS CENTER    LIFTOFF VIDEO (434k QuickTime file) Major Martian volcanoes surveyed by laser See what three of the Red Planet's major volcanoes look like when their terrain is measured by pulsing laser beams from NASA's orbiting Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft.    FULL STORY Shuttle astronauts fly to Florida for Friday's launch The seven-man crew of space shuttle Atlantis traveled to Florida's Kennedy Space Center on Monday night from their home base in Houston in preparation for Friday's scheduled blastoff to the international space station.    MISSION STATUS CENTER    FULL MISSION PREVIEW    NEW! NASA TV SCHEDULE    PHOTO GALLERIES Choose from this menu:       DAILY BRIEFING  Other stories making news today Ariane 4 poised for launch Wednesday -- Arianespace officials have cleared an Ariane 44P rocket for launch carrying a European communications satellite on Wednesday evening from the Guiana Space Center in the South American jungle spaceport. Monday: September 4, 2000   0255 GMT Proton rocket to launch Sirius 2 radio satellite Sirius Satellite Radio, the New York City-based pioneer of digital radio via orbiting spacecraft, hopes to have its second of three primary satellites delivered aloft on Tuesday by a Russian-made Proton rocket.    MISSION STATUS CENTER Meteorite gives clues to solar system's radioactivity Clues about our early solar system are revealed in an isotope analysis of a primitive meteorite, which is more than four-and-a-half billion years old.    FULL STORY Thousands gather in South Africa for new telescope Spring Day in South Africa on Friday was special this year this year when thousands of people gathered in the small town of Sutherland in the Karoo to celebrate the groundbreaking ceremony for the building of a large new telescope just outside the town.    FULL STORY				Shuttle Latest See the Status Center for full play-by-play coverage. Hubble poster The Hubble Space Telescope's majestic view of the Eskimo Nebula. This spectacular poster is available now from the Astronomy Now Store.    MORE Earlier news Aug. 28-Sept. 3: Appearance of stellar object deceives astronomers; Hubble finds stellar cocoon soon to hatch butterfly; Shuttle mission preview; SOHO finds 200th 'sungrazing' comet; Rocketcam video. Aug. 21-27: Boeing Delta 3 rocket launches on demonstration flight; Possible water world under Europa's icy crust; Little black hole works overtime; Hubble gets head count of brown dwarf stars; Chandra turns 1. Aug. 14-20: Titan 4 rocket launches spy satellite; New evidence shows galaxies formed early; Superbubbles bespeak toil and trouble in space; Arianespace resumes flights. Aug. 7-13: More extra-solar planets found; Comet LINEAR's 'shower' observed; NASA to send twin rovers to Mars in 2003; Cargo freighter docks to ISS; Cluster 2 quartet complete; Saturn's moon Titan. July 31-Aug. 6: Film yields amazing views of first Atlas 3 rocket launch; A dying star seen by Hubble; Mars launch in 2014 would offer safety for astronauts; Comet LINEAR not quite gone. More news  See our weekly archive of space news. Contact us If you have a comment or question for Spaceflight Now, just send us an e-mail.