MORE JUNK HEADING FOR SPACE STATION

Nasa will decide later on Monday whether to fire the space station's engines to nudge it out of the path of an orbiting piece of a Russian satellite.

The satellite debris is projected to come within about half a mile of the space station early on Tuesday.

Space station astronauts had to move into an emergency capsule last week for about 10 minutes because another piece of space junk came too close for comfort.

A Nasa spokesman said if the space station has to move, the shuttle Discovery will have to adjust its course slightly to be in position for docking on Tuesday.

Discovery is heading for the space station after a successful launch that was delayed five times.

The delays forced the mission to be shortened by a day and a spacewalk to be axed, but mission managers said they would still be able to complete most of the tasks they had planned.

"It's not a major setback to us," said Bill Gerstenmaier, Nasa's associate administrator for space operations, after Sunday evening's launch. "We're able to accomplish everything we want."

Tasks during the 13-day mission include installing the station's last pair of solar wings so the orbiting outpost can operate at full power. The solar wings will join six already in place.

The crew will also deliver supplies and hardware, most notably replacing a broken machine that turns urine into drinking water and a flusher and iodine solution to get rid of bacteria that is lurking in the water dispenser.