Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield has marked his upcoming departure from the International Space Station by singing a cover version of David Bowie's classic song "Space Oddity" recorded on the orbiting laboratory. Hadfield, 53, who became a global star during his half-year stint on the ISS with regular Twitter updates that gave insights into daily life in space, is due to touch down back on Earth early Tuesday.

British billionaire Richard Branson said Monday that rocket-powered space tourism flights by his firm Virgin Galactic would have only a minor impact on climate change. More than 500 people have already reserved seats -- and paid deposits on the $200,000 ticket price -- for a minutes-long suborbital flight on the SpaceShipTwo (SS2) set to begin by the end of this year.

Washington, May 12 (EFE).- Two astronauts managed to fix an ammonia leak on the International Space Station by replacing a defective pump during a spacewalk lasting a little over five hours, NASA said. Astronauts Tom Marshburn and Chris Cassidy, both of whom are experienced in performing spacewalks, repaired the leak Saturday, replacing a defective pump blamed for the ammonia leak.

TORONTO - Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield is packing his bags as he wraps up his five-month mission aboard the International Space Station. Hadfield tweeted this morning that he “proudly” hands command of the station to Pavel Vinogradov, a Russian cosmonaut. He also tweeted that it’s “time to rev up the Soyuz” for the trip home. Plans call for Hadfield and two other crewmembers to leave the station Monday just after 7 p.m. E-T aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. They’re due to land in Kazakhstan about three and-a-half hours later.