Nasa Plans Space Rendezvous With Russians

NASA announced Wednesday that it plans a Feb. 2 liftoff of Discovery, whose astronaut crew will attempt a firstever rendezvous of a space shuttle with the Russian space station.

The plan is contingent on the replacement of a leaking steering thruster on Discovery as well a leaking hydraulic seal. Another leaking thruster found before the shuttle was moved to the launch pad earlier this month was successfully replaced on Tuesday.

The planned eight-day flight is a rehearsal for a series of docking missions with the Mir space station that are planned to begin in late May or early June.