Muck sticks even in space

Space shuttle Discovery closed in on the International Space Station overnight, sporting whitish splotches on its black right wing edge that Nasa officials said appeared to be bird droppings.

Shuttle lead flight director Tony Ceccacci said he saw the same splotches about three weeks ago.

That means the droppings withstood Florida thunderstorms, a launch during which 1,135,590 litres of water was sprayed at the shuttle's main engines, and a burst through Earth's atmosphere.

Discovery went from zero to 28,158km/h in about 9 minutes.