At 3:26pm EDT on Tuesday afternoon the space shuttle Discovery undocked from the International Space Station to begin the journey home. Discovery and its crew of seven spent over a week completing docked operations at the space station.

At 8:54 pm ET Sunday afternoon, the space shuttle Discovery docked with the space station with special cargo COLBERT treadmill aboard. Discovery lifted off with a brilliant show against the Friday night sky loaded with supplies, science equipment and the treadmill named after Comedy Central host Steven Colbert.

After three previous attempts to launch, the space shuttle Discovery lifted off into outer space in what was the last scheduled nighttime launch remaining for the shuttle fleet. NASA only has six more shuttle missions planned before the fleet is retired either in 2010 or 2011. The 37th flight for Discovery started with a brilliant nighttime launch into orbit at 11:59 pm ET Friday night.

The space shuttle launch time is still on scheduled with the countdown proceeding as planned. Shuttle Discovery was given the “go” from NASA’s mission management team on Sunday. Scheduled for a beautiful night time launch, Discovery and its crew are schedule to launch at 1:36 am ET Tuesday morning.

The National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) is attempting in many ways to be more transparent, using interactive projects to re-engage the older generation in the new aims of the space program, and appeal to newer generations who missed the first space race.

In the first test of planetary protection technology, astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) swabbed their space-walking gear for microbes, using the "Lab-On-A-Chip Application Development Portable Test System" (LOCAD-PTS), a compact biological laboratory designed for use in space. Such tools will be further developed and refined to prevent humanity from contaminating other planets.

Space Shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station this week, bringing with it the final American-made components: a $300 million set of solar arrays.

An appearance at a NASA space celebration by lively literary and movie artist Vanna Bonta made fashion waves as she talked thermal fabrics and convertible footwear, urging fashion to look spaceward, not down its proverbial nose.

South Korean officials says they are replacing the male astronaut they intended to send on a space voyage with a woman. The shift in plans, coming just weeks before the scheduled launch, is due to an apparent violation of security protocols by the male astronaut.

The crews of the International Space Station and space shuttle Atlantis celebrated the opening of the station's new European-built science laboratory Tuesday.