Latest Countdown Stories

Former Stoke trainee Neil MacKenzie is expecting some light- hearted abuse from close friend Liam Lawrence following his recent success on Channel 4 series Countdown. The 32-year-old Notts County midfielder became friends with Lawrence during their time at Mansfield, and is expecting to hear from the Potters midfielder after becoming the first professional footballer to appear on the long-running show. "He'll no doubt give me some stick the next time we meet up," said MacKenzie. "I can't...

Because primary season lasted five months instead of five weeks, I spent many nights in front of the TV watching voting results trickle in. That's how I got to know Chuck Todd and Rachel Maddow, the number-cruncher and the pundit who were hired not long ago to beef up MSNBC's election coverage. Have they ever. Todd's endlessly interesting breakdowns of delegate math recently got him named "MVP of the primary season" by the Huffington Post. The Washington Post 's media critic called him...

SCHOOLS Secretary Ed Balls plans to put a specialist maths teacher into every primary school. He hopes it will help hundreds of thousands of youngsters improve their counting skills. Ministers also want to use Carol Vorderman, brainy star of Channel 4's Countdown, as a role model to encourage youngsters. The maths teacher plan, to be phased in over the next five years, will be a key recommendation in a government review to be published this week. It comes after a report revealed that a...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA started a countdown Tuesday toward the first space shuttle flight of the year. Engineers reported no major technical problems and the weather forecast looked favorable for a Friday launch.The countdown clock began ticking on schedule Tuesday at 9 p.m. EDT.There was a 70 percent chance that the weather would be suitable at 7:38 p.m. EDT Friday, NASA's first opportunity to launch space shuttle Atlantis. The shuttle will carry seven astronauts on an 11-day mission to...

By Irene Klotz and Michael Christie CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - NASA said on Friday that the earliest it could launch the space shuttle Discovery on the first shuttle mission since the 2003 Columbia accident would be late next week, after liftoff was postponed two days ago because of a technical problem. The U.S. space agency said it had formally halted the countdown as engineers searched for the cause of the fault that prevented Discovery's launch. "We are backing out, standing down...

By Irene KlotzCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - NASA on Friday put shuttle Discovery's launch on temporary hold while engineers continued their search for the cause of a fault that forced the U.S. space agency to postpone the first shuttle mission since the 2003 Columbia accident.Early on Friday, technicians removed propellants from the shuttle's onboard power generators, NASA spokeswoman Jessica Rye said.That would rule out a launch attempt this weekend, added NASA spokesman Bruce...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - NASA will go ahead with the first space shuttle mission since the 2003 Columbia disaster after replacing two damaged heat-resistant tiles on the shuttle Discovery, a spokesman said on Tuesday. "The issue has been resolved. Launch is a go," said NASA spokesman Mike Rein. The two tiles were damaged when a plastic window cover weighing less than 2 pounds (1 kilogram) fell off Discovery as the spacecraft sat on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida, during...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - NASA will go ahead with the first space shuttle mission since the 2003 Columbia disaster after fixing damage to a heat-resistant tile on the shuttle Discovery, a spokesman said on Tuesday. "The issue has been resolved. Launch is a go," said NASA spokesman Mike Rein. The tile was damaged when a window covering fell off Discovery as the spacecraft sat on the launchpad at Cape Canaveral in Florida as the clock was counting down to Wednesday's scheduled launch at...

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Space launch technicians filled shuttle Discovery's onboard power generator with fuel on Monday for NASA's first human spaceflight since the 2003 Columbia accident. "At this point the countdown is on schedule and we're tracking no significant issues," NASA test director Peter Nickolenko said during a press briefing. NASA began the three-day launch countdown for Discovery's planned 12-day mission on Sunday evening. Liftoff is targeted for 3:51...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Discovery began a slow trek back to the hangar Thursday to have a new and safer fuel tank installed, along with a heater to prevent a dangerous buildup of ice on its surface. The spacecraft is being readied for liftoff in mid-July on the first shuttle flight since the Columbia disaster 2 1/2 years ago. Discovery was already on the launch pad when NASA concluded that ice that forms on the external tank when it is filled with super-cold fuel could break off...