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WASHINGTON - NASA workers inspecting space shuttle Atlantis this week discovered that a tiny piece of space debris had punched a harmless hole in a radiator panel during the shuttle's flight last month. Atlantis' six astronauts were never in danger, NASA spokesman Kyle Herring said Friday. The damage was not to any part of Atlantis' important heat shield, which protects the shuttle from superheated gases during re-entry to Earth's atmosphere. The shuttle's huge radiator system, attached to the payload bay doors, is crucial to cooling the spacecraft while it's orbiting Earth. When the shuttle opens its cargo bay doors once...

<p>HOUSTON (Reuters) - Astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper collapsed twice during a welcome-home ceremony on Friday, a day after returning to Earth from a 12-day mission on space shuttle Atlantis.</p> <p>Stefanyshyn-Piper, who was on her first spaceflight and made two long spacewalks to perform work on the International Space Station, had "a couple of small dizzy spells" while speaking during the ceremony at Ellington Field in Houston, said NASA spokeswoman Lynnette Madison.</p>

FRIDAY, AUGUST 25, 2006 1430 GMT (10:30 a.m. EDT) The shuttle Atlantis' countdown continues to tick smoothly toward launch on a space station assembly mission. Liftoff is targeted for 4:30 p.m. Sunday. The latest forecast calls for a 60 percent chance of favorable weather, improving to 80 percent "go" Monday and Teusday. The concern Sunday is for possible afternoon thunderstorms within the launch area. =================================================

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Six astronauts embark on a home improvement project this month. But there's no chance of a last-minute trip to Home Depot since they'll be 220 miles from Earth. The crew of the shuttle Atlantis, set to launch Aug. 27, will be delivering a 35,000-pound addition to the half-built international space station. The astronauts will get a little help from robotic arms for the heavy lifting, but gripping screwdrivers and bolts in bulky pressurized spacesuits isn't easy. "This has been described ... as one of the most difficult tasks ever attempted by humans and I'm here to...