Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan are building the biggest plane ever to haul cargo and astronauts into space, in the latest of several ventures fueled by technology tycoons clamoring to write America’s next chapter in spaceflight. Their plans, unveiled Tuesday, call for a twin-fuselage aircraft with wings longer than a football field to carry a rocket high into...

Authorities say a plane returned to the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport without any problems after its nose gear failed to retract after takeoff.Airport spokeswoman Rosylin Weston said the United Airline fight was on its way to Chicago around 6 a.m. Monday when the pilot couldn't get the nose gear back up.Weston says the plane circled the airport a few times to burn fuel and landed 23...

As Bank of America Corp.’s stock has tumbled and clawed back in recent days, city leaders, business owners and others with a stake in the company are waiting to see what happens next.The stock market swings have delivered a familiar feeling of anxiety to a city pummeled by the financial crisis. Local leaders and business owners say they aren’t as fearful this time. But they acknowled...

It's a big ocean between northeastern Japan and the United States and thousands of miles from the crippled nuclear power plant to much of Asia. That means there's little chance - at least for now - that radiation from the shattered reactors could pose a serious threat to the wider world.Experts say the amount of radioactivity emitted by the facility has been relatively minor and should dissipate q...

Discovery, the world's most traveled spaceship, thundered into orbit for the final time Thursday, heading toward the International Space Station on a journey that marks the beginning of the end of the shuttle era.The six astronauts on board, all experienced space fliers, were thrilled to be on their way after a delay of nearly four months for fuel tank repairs. But it puts Discovery on the cusp of...

An estimated 200 jobs will be created in Columbia area as Pure Power Technologies will embark on a $25 million expansion affecting the company’s Midlands operations, according to an announcement made Tuesday. Pure Power Technologies, a division of Illinois-based Navistar Inc., makes diesel engine fuel parts at its Blythewood manufacturing plant. It also has a research and development facili...

Iran began the process of loading 163 fuel rods into the reactor core of its first nuclear power plant on Tuesday, celebrating the achievement as proof that Tehran can outmaneuver international sanctions.The plant, built with Russian help in the southern port city of Bushehr, is not among the aspects of Iran's nuclear program that are of top concern to the international community and is not direct...

A US Airways plane that left 15 people ill in January has again sickened passengers and crew, this time on a flight scheduled to leave Charlotte this morning.Nine people were taken to the hospital this morning from Charlotte/Douglas International Airport after complaining of symptoms consistent with exposure to toxic fumes. Two pilots, five flight attendants and two passengers were taken to Caroli...