Astros Fire Up Thrusters to Dodge Trash

Discovery's astronauts fired thrusters yesterday to maneuver the million-pound International Space Station out of the path of approaching space junk, the third such threat to the orbiting lab in two weeks, reports Space.com. The four-inch chunk of debris—from a Chinese rocket that broke apart in 2000—was heading uncomfortably close to the $100 billion station just as the docked crew was planning to venture on a space walk later today.
(More Discovery space shuttle stories.)