IF this had been a space shuttle mission, the driving wind and rain would have grounded it, but not even foul weather could halt the launch yesterday of a series of rockets in the shadow of Blackrock Castle in Cork.

A NASA astronaut has stressed the importance of maths and science education, during his three day visit to Ireland as part of World Space Week.

WORLD Space Week 2011 takes place from October 4 to 10 as an international celebration of how space has contributed to the betterment of the human condition while also educating the public about space.

Spacewalking astronauts performed more repair work on a jammed joint at the international space station, keeping a tight grip on all their tools so nothing would get away this time.