Sun satellite launched

Astronauts aboard the space shuttle Discovery put a small satellite into orbit for a two-day study aimed at answering some of the sun's most baffling questions, Reuter reports from Cape Canaveral.

After a smooth deployment, the shuttle followed the satellite in orbit before gradually dropping back to a distance of 200 miles. Early tomorrow it will retrieve the satellite, known by the acronym Spartan, and take it back to earth with a welter of fresh scientific data on the sun and how it affects the planet's frayed ozone layer.