02-24-2011, 02:11 PM
CAPE CANAVERAL -- With clear skies and no technical issues, the final launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery – marking the beginning of the end of the U.S. space-shuttle program – has begun taking on a festive atmosphere at Kennedy Space Center.
Discovery is set to launch at 4:50 p.m., with a crew of six commanded by Steve Lindsey, a retired Air Force colonel. Its 11-day mission – ferrying supplies and a humanoid robot to the International Space Station -- will be its 39th since 1984, and its last.
One potential hurdle was cleared at 10:59 Thursday morning when an unmanned supply mission launched from South America successfully docked at the International Space Station. If there had been any issues with that docking, Discovery might have had to hold for a day or more.
NASA's shuttle launch team reports no issues. The weather, clear skies, with 73 degrees and a light breeze, appears near-perfect. The forecast has improved to a 90 percent chance of favorable conditions.
Tens of thousands of people are expected to watch the launch from vantage points all along the Space Coast.
Discovery is set to launch at 4:50 p.m., with a crew of six commanded by Steve Lindsey, a retired Air Force colonel. Its 11-day mission – ferrying supplies and a humanoid robot to the International Space Station -- will be its 39th since 1984, and its last.
One potential hurdle was cleared at 10:59 Thursday morning when an unmanned supply mission launched from South America successfully docked at the International Space Station. If there had been any issues with that docking, Discovery might have had to hold for a day or more.
NASA's shuttle launch team reports no issues. The weather, clear skies, with 73 degrees and a light breeze, appears near-perfect. The forecast has improved to a 90 percent chance of favorable conditions.
Tens of thousands of people are expected to watch the launch from vantage points all along the Space Coast.