Houston calling, we have a baby

Cape Canaveral: Shuttle Atlantis astronaut Randy Bresnik awoke early Sunday to a much-anticipated call that his daughter had been born.

Bresnik's wife, Rebecca, gave birth to Abigail Mae Bresnik just after midnight. At the time, Bresnik was in orbit 354km above Earth with 11 astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station.

Bresnik blasted off on Monday for an 11-day mission to stock the station with spare parts.

This is only the second time a Nasa astronaut has become a new father while in orbit. In 2004, space station resident Mike Fincke welcomed the birth of his second child, also a girl.