DPP raises new concerns over publication of David Drumm’s statement; Cuthbert ‘stepping down with immediate effect’ as Cork senior football manager; Ryanair flight returns to airport minutes after departure to remove forgotten luggage; and Aer Lingus flight forced to swerve in take-off to avoid jet. Here’s today’s lunchtime irishexaminer.com round-up.

An unmanned SpaceX rocket carrying supplies and the first-of-its-kind docking port to the International Space Station broke apart yesterday shortly after liftoff.

Hundreds of mourners are attending the funeral of Eoghan Culligan, a Government Minister said there will be no referendum on abortion before the next election, Sean McComb has earned Ireland’s second medal of the European Games in Baku and we pay a musical tribute to the late James Horner. These are some of the latest and most read stories on irishexaminer.com.

Russia’s Mission Control has failed to stabilise a cargo ship spinning out of control in orbit and it is plunging back to Earth.

A Russian supply ship that went into an uncontrollable spin after launch has been declared a total loss, the crew of the International Space Station said.

USA: Divorce, it seems, has turned into a party — special cakes and all.

An artist who raped and sexually assaulted a young woman has been given a six-year sentence.

The sponsors of the match introduced in 2000 to mark the contribution Seve Ballesteros made to European golf have suggested a name change following the Spanish star’s death earlier this month.

The astronaut husband of wounded US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords said that she wants to be at his shuttle launch next month.

Space shuttle Discovery arrived at the International Space Station today, making its final visit before being docked in a museum.

Discovery, the world’s most travelled spaceship, thundered into orbit for the final time, heading towards the International Space Station on a journey that marks the beginning of the end of the shuttle era.

A US Congresswoman seriously injured in a shooting spree wished her husband and brother-in-law a happy birthday – and also thanked the Houston hospital where she is undergoing intensive rehabilitation for a cake that featured the likeness of her astronaut husband.

A PRIVATE company launched a spacecraft into orbit and then, in a historic first, guided it back to Earth yesterday in a bold test for NASA that could lead to the first commercial space station supply run next year and eventual astronaut rides.

SPACE shuttle Endeavour returned to Earth yesterday, ending a nearly two-week orbital drama that centred on a deep gouge in the shuttle’s belly and an early homecoming prompted by a hurricane.

Nasa cleared Endeavour today for its return to Earth, bringing the space shuttle home a day early because of hurricane worries that later evaporated.

SPACE shuttle Endeavour undocked from the international space station a day early yesterday, as NASA kept a wary eye on Hurricane Dean.

NASA said the space shuttle Endeavour was safe to fly home after deciding that no repairs were needed for a deep gouge.

An astronaut’s ripped glove forced an early end to a spacewalk and added to Nasa’s headaches as shuttle managers put off a decision on whether to order risky repairs for a deep gouge on Endeavour’s belly.

Nasa discovered a worrisome gouge on Endeavour’s belly soon after the shuttle docked with the international space station, possibly caused by ice that broke off the fuel tank a minute after lift-off.

Space shuttle Endeavour docked with the international space station today after making a giant backflip so astronauts on the outpost could check for damage.

NASA engineers will today try to determine whether the space shuttle Endeavour was damaged when foam insulation broke off the fuel tank, as it manoeuvres toward the international space station.

When former US schoolteacher Barbara Morgan leaves Earth on a space shuttle next week, she hopes her students back in Idaho learn a lesson from her 22-year wait to get into orbit: perseverance and patience.

Nasa will today hold a meeting in Cape Canaveral, Florida, to decide whether to try to launch space shuttle Discovery overnight.

Schoolchildren today took the first small step towards launching an Irish astronaut into space within the next 20 years.