Sunday: March 11, 2001   0600 GMT Marathon spacewalk sets new endurance record In a marathon spacewalk marked by unexpected glitches and lost hardware, two astronauts mounted critical equipment on the hull of the international space station today. The 8-hour 56-minute long excursion, was the longest in spacewalk U.S. history.    FULL STORY    MISSION STATUS CENTER    STS-102 MISSION THEATER    SPACEWALK PREVIEW MOVIE (subscribers only)    DETAILED EVA TIMELINE Report: China plans first manned mission next year China plans to launch its first astronauts in late 2002 following more unmanned test flights of the Shenzhou test capsule, according to Japanese news reports.    FULL STORY Saturday: March 10, 2001   0900 GMT Discovery makes belated docking with station The shuttle Discovery glided to a delayed-but-successful docking with the international space station early today to deliver the first of three new crew members after flight controllers finally managed to lock down a possibly free-swinging solar panel.    FULL STORY    MISSION STATUS CENTER    DOCKING VIDEO (subscribers only)    EARLIER STORY Two spacecraft reveal new details of Jupiter's aurora Bright auroras on parts of Jupiter where those shimmering glows have not previously been seen appear in new images taken from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The research is part of a joint study with Cassini to examine how the aurora is affected by the solar wind.    FULL STORY DAILY BRIEFING  Other stories making news today Universe put on the scales -- Only 35 percent of the Universe's contents is in the form of matter, according to new findings. The rest is believed to be in the form of 'dark energy'. This measurement, the most accurate to date, is based on data from 141,000 galaxies. Friday: March 9, 2001   1530 GMT Shuttle Discovery nears rendezvous with station The astronauts successfully completed chores aboard Discovery today as the space shuttle headed ever closer to docking with the international space station. The link up is scheduled for 12:34 a.m. EST (0534 GMT) Saturday.    FULL STORY    MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates Liftoff of Discovery! By dawn's early light, the shuttle Discovery rocketed into orbit Thursday and set off after the international space station to deliver the lab's second full-time crew and nearly five tons of supplies and equipment.    LAUNCH STORY    STS-102 MISSION THEATER Arianespace launches first Ariane 5 rocket of 2001 Two new digital stars are in the sky today following the successful launch Thursday of an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket that delivered European and Japanese telecommunications satellites into Earth orbit.    FULL STORY    MISSION STATUS CENTER Supermassive black hole found in nearby galaxy The nearby galaxy Centaurus A harbors a supermassive black hole at its center. Astronomers have peered right through the spectacular dust lane of the peculiar galaxy Centaurus A, located approximately 11 million light-years away.    FULL STORY Thursday: March 8, 2001   0325 GMT NASA counts down to Discovery's sunrise launch The shuttle Discovery is being fueled for blastoff early Thursday on a flight to deliver the international space station's second full-time crew and nearly five tons of supplies and equipment, including the lab's first suite of scientific experiments.    MISSION STATUS CENTER - live updates    PREVIEW STORY    STS-102 MISSION THEATER Hubble: Huge star clusters formed in ancient crash Studying galactic interactions is like sifting through the forensic evidence at a crime scene. Astronomers wade through the debris of a violent encounter, collecting clues so they can reconstruct the celestial crime to determine when it happened. Take the case of M82, a small, nearby galaxy that long ago bumped into its larger neighbor, M81.    FULL STORY Mir reentry target date set Russian space officials decided to postpone the deorbiting of the Mir space station to around March 20 to save the propellant onboard the Progress spacecraft.    FULL STORY Arianespace to launch first Ariane 5 rocket of 2001 The Ariane 509 rocket was rolled to its South American launch pad Wednesday in final preparation for liftoff Thursday evening to deliver European and Japanese telecommunications satellites into orbit.    MISSION STATUS CENTER Wednesday: March 7, 2001   0158 GMT Discovery 'go' for launch amid station budget trouble With the shuttle Discovery poised for launch Thursday on the next space station assembly mission, senior NASA managers today attempted to downplay the potential impact of a projected $4 billion budget shortfall, calling an expected down-sizing a "minor adjustment."    FULL STORY    STS-102 MISSION INDEX    MISSION THEATER More mission coverage here:       Countdown rolls on for Thursday's shuttle launch The trouble-free countdown continues at Kennedy Space Center for shuttle Discovery's sunrise blastoff Thursday. The weather forecast is generally favorable with the only concern being unseasonably cold temperatures.    FULL STORY    MISSION STATUS CENTER Checking on an old and active cometary friend When Comet Hale-Bopp passed through the inner solar system in early 1997, it was admired in the sky as a "classical" comet, with a bright head and an enormous, multi-coloured tail. Now four years later, astronomers have captured new views of the comet.    FULL STORY Chandra snaps remarkable image of galaxy group A new Chandra image reveals great detail and complexity in the central region of the compact galaxy group known as HCG 62. Such galaxy groups, which contain fewer galaxies than the better-known galaxy clusters, are an important class of objects because they may serve as cosmic building blocks in the large-scale structure of the Universe.    FULL STORY Tuesday: March 6, 2001   0402 GMT Countdown underway for shuttle Discovery launch Clocks at Kennedy Space Center have begun ticking to this week's planned launch of space shuttle Discovery on a mission to exchange crews aboard the international space station. The shuttle is poised for liftoff Thursday at 6:42 a.m. EST (1142 GMT).    MISSION STATUS CENTER    STS-102 MISSION INDEX    MISSION THEATER More mission coverage here:       Russia offers module, extra Soyuz capsule to partners Russian Aviation and Space Agency, Rosaviacosmos, has endorsed the development of the first commercially operated module of the international space station in hopes of charging rent to its partners.    FULL STORY Unique double-header as 2 shuttles grace Cape skies Space shuttles Atlantis and Columbia made it back to Florida's Space Coast on Monday after lengthy cross-country ferry flights from California, but there wasn't enough parking spots at Kennedy Space Center for both spaceplanes and their carrier aircraft.    FULL STORY DAILY BRIEFING  Other stories making news today Boeing's digital cinema ready for viewing -- Boeing digital cinema, a capability that enables same-day delivery of digital media via satellite to multiple movie theaters, is ready for viewing. Monday: March 5, 2001   0550 GMT Shuttle Discovery set for sunrise launch Thursday The seven astronauts who will ride shuttle Discovery into space made a late-night arrival at Kennedy Space Center on Sunday as preparations remain on schedule to start the countdown today. The shuttle is poised for liftoff Thursday at 6:42 a.m. EST (1142 GMT).    MISSION STATUS CENTER    STS-102 MISSION INDEX    MISSION THEATER Did comets water Earth? A physics professor at the University of Iowa says that he has found new evidence to support his theory that the water in Earth's oceans arrived by way of small snow comets.    FULL STORY Europe, Japan plan joint Martian observations Japanese and European Mars orbiters will keep each other company once they arrive at the red planet in 2003 and 2004. A recent meeting between the Mars Express and Nozomi teams forged an agreement to work together once their respective probes arrive in Martian orbit.    FULL STORY				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 Feb. 26-March 4: Titan 4 rocket launches Milstar; NASA kills X-33 and X-34; NEAR Shoemaker phones home for the last time; Jupiter's largest moon may be a wet, slushy place; Pluto mission clings to life; Volcanic Io erupts. Feb. 19-25: Atlantis landing diverted to California; NEAR gets another extension; Students uncover baffling Martian boulders; Mir turns 15 years old; Asteroid or comet blamed for mass extinction. Feb. 12-18: NEAR probe survives historic landing on asteroid Eros; Atlantis departs station after flawless lab delivery; More new Mars pictures; Launches of XM radio satellites shuffled. More news  See our weekly archive of space news. 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