Sunday: August 12, 2001   0319 GMT Life aboard Discovery The astronauts aboard space shuttle Discovery provided an insight into life aboard the ship on Saturday by downlinking some video of activities, including the crew conducting experiments, a dramatic view of a maneuvering engine firing, exercising to keep in shape in space and a birthday celebration far from home. Additional coverage for subscribers only:    VIDEO: CULBERTSON PERFORMS MEDICAL TEST QT or RV    VIDEO: SHUTTLE MANEUVERING ENGINE FIRED QT or RV    VIDEO: HOROWITZ EXERCISES ON MIDDECK QT or RV    VIDEO: STURCKOW CELEBRATES HIS 40TH BIRTHDAY QT or RV Shuttle crew gear up for Sunday's station linkup The crew of space shuttle Discovery spent its first full day in space preparing for Sunday's planned 2:38 p.m. EDT docking with the international space station. They have set up rendezvous tools and docking equipment and fired thrusters to fine tune their approach to the station.    MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates    ASTRONAUTS' MASTER FLIGHT PLAN    DETAILED DOCKING TIMELINE    QUICK-LOOK MISSION FACTS    ORBIT OPS SNAPSHOT More mission coverage here:       Additional coverage for subscribers only:    VIDEO: SATURDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING QT or RV NASA to accept TDRS-H satellite despite flaw The orbital verification and checkout process has finally been completely for the Boeing-built Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-H, launched June 2000. NASA and BSS are finalizing conditions for acceptance of TDRS-H, which has suffered a shortfall in its expected performance.    FULL STORY Saturday: August 11, 2001   0214 GMT Discovery launches with next Alpha resident crew The shuttle Discovery rocketed away from NASA's Florida spaceport Friday and set off after the international space station, carrying a fresh three-man crew and nearly four tons of supplies and equipment, including yet another sorely needed command-and-control computer.    FULL STORY Additional coverage for subscribers only:    VIDEO: LAUNCH OF DISCOVERY QT or RV    VIDEO: ONBOARD CAMERA RECORDS COCKPIT VIEW QT or RV    VIDEO: LIFTOFF AS SEEN FROM VAB ROOF QT or RV    VIDEO: DRAMATIC VIEW FROM IN FRONT OF PAD QT or RV    VIDEO: CLOSE-UP VIEW OF MAIN ENGINES QT or RV    VIDEO: PAD PARAMETER LAUNCH VIEW QT or RV    VIDEO: BEACH TRACKER REPLAY QT or RV    VIDEO: VIEW OF LAUNCH FROM PRESS SITE QT or RV    VIDEO: SOLID ROCKET BOOSTER SEPARATION QT or RV    VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS DEPART QUARTERS FOR LAUNCH QT or RV Genesis tweaks its path NASA's Genesis probe successfully performed its first course correction maneuver on Friday to adjust the flight path. Controllers continue to report the spacecraft is healthy as it embarks on a voyage to collect samples of solar wind for return to Earth.    MISSION STATUS CENTER Additional coverage for subscribers only:    VIDEO: GENESIS LAUNCH QT or RV    VIDEO: ONBOARD VIEW OF STAGING QT or RV    VIDEO: ROCKETCAM VIEW OF NOSE CONE FALLING QT or RV    VIDEO: LAUNCH VIEW FROM JETTY PARK QT or RV    VIDEO: ENGINEERING LAUNCH CLOSE-UPS QT or RV    VIDEO: GENESIS MISSION ANIMATION QT or RV Friday: August 10, 2001   0815 GMT Stubborn storms scrub shuttle Discovery's launch Thunderstorms forced NASA to call off Thursday's planned launch of the space shuttle Discovery on an international space station crew exchange mission. Liftoff has been rescheduled for 5:15:12 p.m. EDT (2115:12 GMT) Friday. Check the status center for further updates.    MISSION STATUS CENTER - live updates    LAUNCH WINDOWS CHART    DETAILED LAUNCH TIMELINE    QUICK-LOOK MISSION FACTS Scientists trace primordial structure of early Universe NASA's Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) satellite has given astronomers their best glimpse yet at the ghostly cobweb of helium gas left over from the big bang, which underlies the universe's structure. The helium is not found in galaxies or stars but spread thinly through the vastness of space.    FULL STORY Going behind the Milky Way to solve X-ray mystery Through layers of gas and dust that stretch for more than 30,000 light years, astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have taken a long, hard look at the plane of the Milky Way galaxy and found that its X-ray glow comes from hot and diffuse gas. The findings help to settle a long-standing mystery about the source of the X-ray emission from the galactic plane.    FULL STORY Stormy space weather takes a toll on Earth's ozone A new study confirms a long-held theory that large solar storms rain electrically charged particles down on Earth's atmosphere and deplete the upper-level ozone for weeks to months thereafter. New evidence from NASA and NOAA satellites is helping scientists better understand how man and nature both play a role in ozone loss.    FULL STORY Thursday: August 9, 2001   0123 GMT Discovery to launch new space station crew today The countdown is continuing on schedule at Kennedy Space Center for Thursday's launch of space shuttle Discovery on a taxi mission to exchange the resident crews of the international space station. The only concern is the weather, which calls for a 40 percent chance of prohibiting liftoff.    MISSION STATUS CENTER    COUNTDOWN EVENTS CHART    DETAILED LAUNCH TIMELINE    QUICK-LOOK MISSION FACTS More mission coverage here:       NASA probe launched to retrieve bits of our origins NASA's Genesis spacecraft was successfully launched on its three-year, 20-million mile voyage by a Boeing Delta 2 rocket Wednesday, kicking off the $260 million mission that aims to catch particles streaming from the Sun and return them to scientists on Earth.    FULL STORY    MISSION STATUS CENTER DAILY BRIEFING  Other stories making news today NASA announces new Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel members -- NASA has named six new members and eight new consultants to the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel. The ASAP is a senior advisory committee reporting to NASA and the U.S. Congress. The panel was established by Congress after the 1967 Apollo 1 spacecraft fire. Wednesday: August 8, 2001   0330 GMT Genesis to fly Wednesday A Boeing Delta 2 rocket is ready for another attempt at launching NASA's Genesis spacecraft on a three-year voyage to collect bits of the solar wind and return them to Earth. Liftoff is slated for Wednesday from Cape Canaveral, Florida.    MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates    DETAILED LAUNCH TIMELINE    THE DELTA 2 ROCKET    GENESIS FACT SHEET    SCIENCE MISSION OF GENESIS Countdown ticking along for Discovery's launch The countdown is continuing on schedule at Kennedy Space Center for Thursday's launch of space shuttle Discovery on a taxi mission to exchange the resident crews of the international space station. The only concern is the weather, which calls for a 40 percent chance of prohibiting liftoff.    MISSION STATUS CENTER    COUNTDOWN EVENTS CHART    DETAILED LAUNCH TIMELINE    QUICK-LOOK MISSION FACTS More mission coverage here:       Chandra spies spectacular jet in nearby galaxy NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has captured a stunning image of Centaurus A, a massive elliptical galaxy approximately 11 million light years from Earth. In addition to the bright central source, a suspected supermassive black hole, and the X-ray jet emanating from the core, more than 200 point-like X-ray sources were identified and studied.    FULL STORY Former X-33 aerospike engine completes tests NASA's Second Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle Program - also known as the Space Launch Initiative - is making advances in propulsion technology with this third and final successful engine hot-fire designed to test electro-mechanical actuators.    FULL STORY Tuesday: August 7, 2001   0111 GMT Shuttle countdown begins The three-day countdown is underway at Kennedy Space Center for Thursday's launch of space shuttle Discovery on a taxi mission to exchange the resident crews of the international space station. Officials reviewing the cracked solid rocket booster fuel injector have concluded the issue does not pose a safety threat to Discovery.    MISSION STATUS CENTER Galileo's camera fails as probe made Io flyby NASA's Galileo spacecraft has completed a flyby of Jupiter's moon Io, skimming about 124 miles above the surface of the highly volcanic moon Monday. But Galileo's camera, which has had an intermittent electronic problem for more than a year, appears not to have been working during the closest part of the flyby.    FULL STORY Launch of NASA's Genesis reset to Wednesday Officials have secured an attempt to launch the Boeing Delta 2 rocket with Genesis on Wednesday from Cape Canaveral, squeezing in the shot one day before space shuttle Discovery's scheduled liftoff.    MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates    FUTURE LAUNCH WINDOWS    THE DELTA 2 ROCKET    GENESIS FACT SHEET    SCIENCE MISSION OF GENESIS DAILY BRIEFING  Other stories making news today Bob Cabana assumes NASA lead operations role in Russia -- Astronaut Bob Cabana has been named NASA's Director, Human Space Flight Programs, Russia, effective Wedesday. He assumes this role at a time when the International Space Station, while still under construction, has become self-reliant, and larger and more capable than any other space station in history. Monday: August 6, 2001   1500 GMT Titan 4B launches with missile warning satellite A U.S. Air Force Titan 4B rocket lifted off on time this morning at 3:28 a.m. EDT (0728 GMT) carrying a Defense Support Program missile-warning satellite. A solid-fueled IUS upper stage will be ignited later to boost the satellite to geostationary altitude.    MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates    LAUNCH TIMELINE    TITAN 4 FACT SHEET    DSP FACT SHEET No decision yet on possible shuttle Discovery repairs The seven astronauts who will ride space shuttle Discovery into orbit during this week's scheduled launch arrived at Kennedy Space Center on Sunday amid ongoing analysis about cracks found in a critical solid rocket booster system.    MISSION STATUS CENTER    EARLIER STORY Discovery taking ovarian tumor cells into space When the space shuttle Discovery blasts off, it will take ovarian cancer into space for the first time. The ovarian cancer cells are headed to the space station to develop three-dimensional cancer cell clusters that function more like cancer in humans than the two-dimensional cell cultures traditionally grown in petri dishes.    FULL STORY				Earlier news July 30-Aug. 5: Technical concern, bad weather delays Genesis; Scientists find largest flood channels in the solar system; Satellite takes photos of Mt. Etna eruption. July 23-29: Signature of life on Mars found in decades-old data; Atlantis returns home after delivering station airlock; Atlas rocket launches U.S. weather satellite. July 16-22: Spacewalkers christen station's Quest airlock; Does the Red Planet have liquid water today?; Solar sail experiment lost due to launcher problem; Star clusters born in cosmic collision wreckage. July 9-15: Ariane 5 rocket fails; Atlantis launches doorway for space station Alpha; Security breach forces tighter shuttle protection; Scientists: Water-bearing worlds beyond solar system. 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. 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