NATION IN BRIEF : FLORIDA : Shuttle Crew Works on Secret Mission

Discovery’s crew worked through the second full day of the shuttle’s secret military space mission as officials at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida kept a tight lid on what the five shuttle astronauts were doing. They reportedly were conducting experiments for the “Star Wars” missile-defense system. The media were blocked from listening to space-to-ground conversations, which were encrypted in case someone figured out how to eavesdrop. Discovery is scheduled to return to Earth on Sunday at 7:02 p.m. at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. It will be the third after-dark landing in 32 shuttle flights. Sources close to the project said the astronauts had achieved the main goal of their mission by deploying a 2 1/2-ton, $300-million spy satellite.