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Astronaut Eileen Collins is concerned about the environmental degradation she sees from space. On board the fragile spaceship Discovery, she lamented from her unique vantage point above the Earth: “Sometimes you can see how there is erosion, and you can see how there is deforestation. It's very widespread in some parts of the world. . . .We would like to see, from the astronauts' point of view, people take good care of the Earth and replace the resources that have been used.” The first thought that must have sprung into many people’s minds was, “Who made her an expert on...

Well since the Space Shuttle is landing at 4:45 am, I figure I start a live thread now (I won't be awake)...

America held its breath Tuesday morning. Twice, it had seen what could happen when 4.5 million pounds is hurled skyward by 7.4 million pounds of thrust to achieve an orbit of the earth and then shed that energy for a safe, passenger-jet speed landing. Twice it had grieved. The Challenger lift off explosion in 1986 and the Columbia re-entry disaster of 2003 had taken 14 lives of men and women who had placed them in the hands of technology only to learn its implacable cruelty. Would the shuttle Discovery somehow redeem that trust? In a world where headlines are made...

Poised for Liftoff Space Shuttle Discovery rests in full view on the launch pad. Image above: The rolling back of Launch Pad 39B's Rotating Service Structure reveals orbiter Discovery. + Click for larger image. Image credit: NASA/KSC Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-114, NASA's Return to Flight mission, is set for Tuesday at 10:39 a.m. EDT. The launch pad's Rotating Service Structure (RSS) was rolled away from Discovery at 3:38 p.m. on Monday. When in place, the giant enveloping appendage is used to install payloads into an orbiter's cargo bay and provide protection from inclement weather. With the...

First female commander, phobic of roller coasters, leads next shuttle mission By Marcia Dunn, Associated Press Sunday, May 01, 2005 SPACE CENTER, Houston - Sometime in July, Eileen Collins, commander of the next space shuttle mission, will strap herself into a rocketship loaded with explosive fuel and fearlessly shoot from zero to 1,000 mph in a minute flat. Just don't ask her to get on a roller coaster. Collins - the first woman to pilot a shuttle and now the first female commander - will preside over NASA's return to space more than two years after the Columbia tragedy. Known...