Close Encounter

CAPE CANAVERAL: The Space Shuttle Discovery had a close encounter late Tuesday when the ozone-measuring satellite that trails the shuttle nearly crashed into a discarded rocket motor hurtling round earth at 17,500 mph. The U.S. Space Command had planned for a near miss of between half-mile and three and a half miles -- which quickened the pulses of German space officials, who provided the very-expensive satellite. "We saw that we are still transmitting, so our spacecraft is fine," German mission manager Konrad Moritz said. "This was a moment of excitement."

Earlier today the Shuttle had a safer encounter with the Hale-Bopp Comet, captured by the shuttle's window-mounted ultraviolet telescope and beamed down in full color to a huge TV screen in Mission Control. The pictures are clearer than anything we've seen before. And unfortunately for Heaven's Gate, there's no sign of the UFO just yet. Check a few of them out.