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May 22, 2008 9:08 am US/Central
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Sky Gazers To See Int'l Space Station From Earth
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (CBS) ―
Sky gazers are in for a treat. NASA officials say the International Space Station will be viewable through Friday night, offering a rare glimpse for sky gazers across the country as it orbits the Earth.
The International Space Station is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The station is a partnership between the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada and Europe. Construction began in 1998 and will be completed in 2010.
Seventeen crews have lived aboard the orbiting complex since 2000, reports CBS station WFOR-TV in Miami.
Station residents have conducted scientific experiments and gathered data to help assist future missions to the moon and Mars.
The next space shuttle mission is scheduled to launch from Kennedy Space Center on May 31 in the afternoon. Discovery will head to the International Space Station to install components of the Japanese Kibo laboratory.
The 14-day mission will include three spacewalks, and the crew also plans to install a pressurized module and robotic arm system on the Kibo, which will be the largest and final laboratory at the space station.
The mission will also deliver a new member to the space station team, Greg Chamitoff, and bring back flight engineer Garrett Reisman, who has been in space for three months.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)