Discovery is set to launch to the International Space Station on the STS-133 mission on Thursday, February 24.
Earlier today, NASA’s mission management team gave their unanimous approval for space shuttle Discovery’s launch tomorrow at 4:50 p.m. est
“Everything is on track and going beautifully with the countdown,” said Mike Moses, mission management team chair. “We’re really looking forward to a very action-packed, successful mission and everything is on track.”
Discovery began its 3.4-mile trip from the Vehicle Assembly Building at 7:58 p.m. EST Jan. 31, and was secured on the pad a little before 3 a.m. Feb. 1.
Kathy Winters, shuttle weather officer, reported that the weather remains exceptional with only a 20 percent chance that weather will be prohibitive at launch time. The only slight issue may be a localized off-shore shower in the late afternoon. The forecast during tanking also is looking very good.
The STS-133 crew members are Commander Steven Lindsey, Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialists Alvin Drew, Michael Barratt, Steve Bowen and Nicole Stott. Bowen replaced astronaut Tim Kopra, who was injured in a bicycle accident in January.
On its final mission, Discovery will take the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) packed with supplies and critical spare parts, as well as Robonaut 2 (R2) to the International Space Station. Following the STS-133 mission, Discovery will be the first of the shuttle fleet to retire.
