News In Brief

Shuttle crew captures 2nd wayward satellite

Discovery's spacewalking salvage crew corralled a second stranded satellite Wednesday when free-flying Dale Gardner speared the Westar 6 payload with a lancelike locking pole.

The capture was executed just eight minutes after the untethered Mr. Gardner cast free of Discovery's open cargo bay to cross a 35-foot chasm between the two spacecraft, propelled by spurts of nitrogen gas from his rocket backpack. Maneuvering the 1,200-pound payload was no problem in the weightlessness of space, even though man and machine were racing around the globe at 17,400 m.p.h. , 224 miles up.