Ageing space shuttle Atlantis was showing no signs of a ship ready for retirement, with a near-flawless first day of its final flight.

A biology professor at a southern US university has been charged with murder over the shooting deaths of three fellow biology professors at the campus.

Scientists in the US are deadlocked over the severity of the next sunspot cycle, which could produce powerful solar storms that can disrupt communication systems on Earth.

Nasa has commissioned a design for a cheap, reusable, air-breathing rocket engine.

Nasa's replacement for the space shuttle has been cancelled.