Advertisement

SPACE STATION HAS COMPUTER ISSUE

 
Published April 12, 2014|Updated April 14, 2014

A computer outage at the International Space Station may require a spacewalk by astronauts and threatens to delay next week's launch of a commercial supply ship for NASA. NASA said Friday night that a backup computer on the outside of the orbiting lab is not responding to commands. The main computer, called an MDM, is working fine, and the six-man crew is in no danger, officials said. But these computers control some robotic functions that would be needed for the upcoming supply run by SpaceX, a company contracted by NASA to keep the space station well stocked.

Woman gets life in stiletto heel death

A Houston woman was sentenced to life in prison Friday for fatally stabbing her boyfriend with the 5-inch stiletto heel of her shoe, striking him at least 25 times in the face and head. Ana Trujillo was convicted of murder Tuesday by the same jury for killing 59-year-old Alf Stefan Andersson during an argument last June at his Houston condominium. Defense attorneys argued that Trujillo, 45, was defending herself from an attack by Andersson, who was a University of Houston professor and researcher.

American jailed in Cuba ends his fast

An American imprisoned in Cuba for more than four years after illegally working to set up Internet access on the island suspended his hunger strike Friday after more than a week. Alan Gross, 64, had eaten his last solid meal April 2 and said in a statement he was fasting to protest his treatment by the U.S. and Cuban governments. In a statement released through his lawyer, Gross said he suspended his fast because his 91-year-old mother asked him to stop. But he said "there will be further protests to come." Gross, who had lived in Maryland, was working as a subcontractor for the Agency for International Development when he was arrested in 2009. Cuba considers USAID's programs illegal attempts by the United States to undermine its government. Gross was tried and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Times wires