A former Nasa flight surgeon said today the woman astronaut accused of trying to kidnap and murder a love rival had suffered “mental anguish”.

From the Johnson Space Centre in Texas to Capitol Hill in Washington DC, the relief was obvious when space shuttle Discovery safely returned to terra firma.

The space shuttle Discovery landed in California today, ending a tense mission that was fraught with problems.

when her boat was broken up by a freak ebb tide and she was sucked beneath a car ferry.