Florida: NASA Space shuttle Discovery is poised to launch its final mission on Thursday within few hours concluding a three-decade legacy of orbital travel.
NASA began fueling its most traveled shuttle shortly after sunrise Thursday. The weather outlook has improved to 90% “go” for the 4:50 p.m. (2150 GMT) liftoff.
People in large number are starting to say goodbye to Discovery at Florida for Discovery’s farewell launch.
NASA is confident no hydrogen gas will leak and no cracks will develop in the fuel tank. Both problems cropped up during the initial countdown in November. The repairs took almost four months.
Discovery will head to the International Space Station with a crew of six, as well as a load of supplies and a humanoid robot.
The mission will be led by Commander Steven Lindsey, pilot Eric Boe and astronauts Alvin Drew, Michael Barratt, Steve Bowen and Nicole Stott.
Astronaut Tim Kopra was scratched from the crew list after a bicycle accident in January. He was replaced by Bowen.
The crew plans to deliver the Permanent Multipurpose Module, with extra storage space and an area for experiments, as well as some spare parts and the Express Logistic Carrier, an external platform for large equipment.
The shuttle will also bring the first humanoid robot to the ISS. The Robonaut 2, or R2, is a joint project of General Motors and NASA and will stay behind when Discovery leaves as a permanent resident of the space station.
Discovery has flown more missions than any other shuttle. It first blasted off in 1984, circling the Earth more than 5,600 times and logging 143 million miles (230 million kilometers) over its 352 days in space in 38th flights.
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