The year 2006 was a busy one for space and technology workers. A planet lost its status and space flights caught the imagination of people around the world. The following is a short list of the major events of the year: _  IBM has built a chip that runs about 100 times faster than the ones we have now. The development could lead to faster computers. The chip was first made in June. It can run at a speed of 500 gigahertz  . Pluto loses face The International Astronomical Union created the first scientific definition   of the word "planet" in August. Under the new rules, Pluto is no longer called a planet but a "dwarf planet"  . Pluto had been considered a planet since its discovery in 1930. For now, there are only the eight "classical" planets in the solar system  : They are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Woman space tourist The first woman space tourist was launched on a Russian rocket from Kazakhstan on September 18. The flight carried a businesswoman, named Anousheh Ansari, along with a fresh crew for the International Space Station (ISS). Ansari is a 40-year-old American. She has paid at least US$20 million for the trip. She returned on September 28 after her eight-day stay at the International Space Station. Discovery sent up The US space shuttle Discovery took seven astronauts on a 12-day repair mission   to the International Space Station on December 9. It was the first night launch by NASA in four years. The last one ended in the failure of the space shuttle Columbia in 2003. The US space shuttle Discovery was sent up mainly to   _  .
do some research do some repairs be in memory to Columbia shuttle. build a space station.