Twenty years to the day since Yuri Gagarin flew in Vostok 1, the world’s first reusable spacecraft – and the most complex spacecraft ever built – was launched into orbit by the US.

• Two long wedge-shape pieces of foam insulation were removed from the external fuel tank. • Sensors have been added to monitor stress, temperature and acceleration during launch. • Foam ...

Space shuttle Discovery and its seven-member crew lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 7:43 p.m. EDT Sunday to deliver the final set of power-generating solar array wings and a new ...