The space shuttle Discovery launched August 28,  to deliver, among other things, a new room for the International Space Station and a humorously-named treadmill.   As the shuttle prepared to launch, it was getting a boost from a report commissioned by the president, The Observer reports:

The US space shuttle, scheduled to be scrapped next year, could be thrown a last-minute lifeline this week. A reprieve is to be included as an option for rejuvenating America’s beleaguered space programme in a report commissioned by President Barack Obama.