Reading Their Tributes Gathered today in front of a photograph of the Challenger crew, the Discovery astronauts, one by one, read tributes they had prepared before the flight.

The Discovery astronauts worked through their second full day in orbit on Thursday, executing an elegant orbital back flip and docking with the International Space Station.

The Discovery astronauts plan to test a new miniature shuttle robot arm designed by Japanese scientists for the international space station, on which construction work in space is to begin next year.

A real computer crash today halted a mock space shuttle mission in its final hours just before the five Discovery astronauts were preparing to simulate landing on a flat tire.

After more than a week in space, the Discovery astronauts are making final preparations for a landing early tomorrow.

In addition, two successful spacewalks by the Discovery astronauts put the station in shape for continued expansion on future missions, he said.

The Discovery astronauts, who began their mission on Tuesday, released the telescope from the shuttle's cargo bay on Wednesday.

The Discovery astronauts performed superbly during their two-week mission, and the shuttle looked better than ever in some respects.

Stakes in Discovery Flight Another disaster is not unthinkable, as the Discovery astronauts acknowledge in discussing the burden of being the first crew to fly the redesigned shuttle.

On Tuesday, a day after the brief Mir rendezvous, the Discovery astronauts are to deploy a recoverable 2,600-pound satellite called Spartan.