Glenn's participation in the nine-day mission was criticized by some in the space community as a junket for a politician.

Technicians here recovered pieces of the panel scattered around the launching pad from which the shuttle took off on Thursday for its planned nine-day mission.

He also served as a pilot on a nine-day mission on the Atlantis in August 1991.

The shuttle's nine-day mission is scheduled to end with re-entry on June 14.

The space shuttle Atlantis glided safely back to earth today after a nine-day mission that the space agency said was nearly flawless.

The nine-day mission launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on August 2, 1991.

A10 The shuttle returned to earth after a nine-day mission.

The failure is expected to delay the nine-day mission at least three weeks.

The spectacular night launch on December 2, 1990 started a nine-day mission devoted to round-the-clock observations of stars and other celestial objects.

The astronauts got an unexpected visual treat today, three days into their nine-day mission.