Fifteen years ago, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched into space aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia.
Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu continued her unbeaten run while debutant Sameer Verma also qualified for the knockout stage with a straight-game win in his last Group B match at the BWF World Tour Finals.
Sindhu goes down fighting in All England semisSindhu goes down fighting in All England semis
She faced off against former disciple-turned-defector Suvendu Adhikari in a very different contest. It's not land acquisition, but an ego clash that has acquired, tragically, communal overtones, explains Kanika Datta.
The apex body also advised "teams and participants entering tournaments during the European and Asian legs" to "not return to their home countries as many would then have to undergo a 14-day quarantine period upon their return."
Williams, 41, is also set to break astronaut Shannon Lucid's record for the longest stay in space ever by a woman -- 188 days and 4 hours -- on June 16, three days before Atlantis brings her back to Earth.
The broad-based NSE Nifty hit a low of 10,979.30 intra-day, managed to end above the 11,000-level at 11,027.70, down 21.95 points, or 0.20 per cent.
B Sai Praneeth became the first Indian male shuttler in 36 years to secure a medal in the BWF World Championships after a straight-game victory over Indonesia's Jonatan Christie.
Sentiment turned weak after data released after market hours on Monday showed that the country's trade deficit, or difference between imports and exports, reached USD 14.88 billion in December, up about 41 per cent year-on-year, as crude oil and gold import bill inflated.
The NSE Nifty closed lower by 32.15 points, or 0.32 per cent, at 9,984.80.
As the shuttle, scheduled to dock at 3:38 pm (0108 IST on Monday), closes in on the ISS, the stage is set for changes at the station and for its crew members.
This is its lowest closing since April 5 when it had finished at 33,596.80.
The broader Nifty, after struggling, also managed to end above the 10,200-level.
The airlock at the lower pressure protects against decompression sickness, commonly called "the bends," as the two go to the even lower pressure of spacesuits on Tuesday.
NASA says the Discovery shuttle will be on the most complex mission yet -- to give the International Space Station a new electricity system. The STS-116 will drop off Sunita for a six-month stay at the space lab.
The Hong Kong Open finalist, Sameer reached the quarter-finals with a shocking 21-17, 21-15 win in a 40-minute match.
This is its biggest single session gain since April 5, when it had surged 577.73 points.
The NSE 50-share Nifty also closed higher by 61.60 points, or 0.59 per cent, at 10,504.80 after shuttling between 10,513 and 10,441.45.
Brokers said investor sentiment turned choppy on selling by foreign institutional investors ahead of the September month derivatives expiry on Thursday.
The NSE Nifty after shuttling between 10,397.60 and 10,279.35 points, ended 47 points, or 0.45 per cent lower at 10,301.05.
India's men shuttlers had a great day in office with reigning Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap winning the Austrian Open Championship in Vienna while young Sameer Verma made it to the summit clash of the Swiss Open.
The Nifty too slipped below the psychologically important 11,000 mark.
World No. 3 Sindhu thrashed Yamaguchi 21-9, 21-13 in just 36 minutes to top Group A in women's singles at the Sheikh Hamdan Indoor Stadium. This was her last group stage match.
The Nifty finished the day at 10,265.65, a hefty gain of 98.95 points, or 0.97 per cent, after shuttling between 10,270.85 and 10,195.25.
NASA officials blasted for skipping safety improvements
'The one thing is I have improved my fitness a lot'
The broader NSE Nifty climbed 61.60 points, or 0.58 per cent, to close at 10,772.05.
The NSE Nifty too ended 58.60 points, or 0.54 per cent, higher at 10,967.30 after shuttling between 10,985.15 and 10,928 during the session.
Stocks of IT, power, healthcare, capital goods, oil & gas, banking and auto were the major drivers.
Both the Sensex and Nifty, however, registered gains for the week.
Among major gainers, ITC, Reliance Industries, Dr Reddy's and HDFC rose up to 3 per cent.
With the spacecraft's safe landing, NASA's mission came to a happy ending unlike the 2003 Columbia disaster in which India-born Kalpana Chawla was killed along with her six colleagues aboard the shuttle
Top gainers in the Sensex pack include Yes Bank, TCS, Infosys, IndusInd Bank, HCL Tech, Bharti Airtel, HDFC, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Auto, ICICI Bank, Vedanta, Hero MotoCorp, ITC, Bajaj Finance, M&M and Tata Steel, surging up to 3.24 per cent.
A NASA internal report had warned of deficiencies in the way insulating foam was being applied to sections of the fuel tank, to be used on the shuttle Discovery's current mission.
The broader 50-issue NSE Nifty edged up just 0.10 points to close at 10,806.60
