NASA fuels space shuttle Discovery for last launch

[November 05, 2010]  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- NASA fueled space shuttle Discovery on Friday for one last trip into orbit, after a week of dealing with technical problems and waiting out stormy weather.

Wind was still a concern for the 3:04 p.m. scheduled liftoff. But at least the countdown was finally past the six-hour mark.

Before sunrise, the launch team began filling Discovery's massive fuel tank following a brief delay necessitated by extra work at the pad.

"Go, Discovery," echoed from the firing room.

It's the closest NASA has come to sending Discovery and a veteran crew of six to the International Space Station, along with a load of supplies, equipment and a futuristic robot.

Thursday's attempt was thwarted by stormy weather. The cold front quickly moved through. Early Friday, forecasters said there was a 70 percent chance that conditions would be acceptable, better than before. But wind remained a lingering concern.

Three previous delays were caused by gas leaks and a sluggish circuit breaker. Monday was the original launch date.

This would be the 39th and final flight of Discovery, NASA's oldest and most traveled shuttle. Discovery's prime caretaker in orbit will be commander Steven Lindsey, a former chief of the astronaut corps who's made four previous shuttle trips. The 11-day mission will feature two spacewalks.

Over 26 years, Discovery has traveled 143 million miles and spent 352 days in space. Among its more memorable missions: delivering the Hubble Space Telescope to orbit in 1990 and returning John Glenn to orbit in 1998. This will be its 13th docking to the International Space Station.

The space agency will close out its 30-year-old shuttle program next year. Endeavour is set to soar at the end of February. Atlantis may make one extra flight next summer, but Washington has yet to provide the money for it.

The White House has instructed NASA to shift its focus from launching astronauts into orbit to sending them to asteroids and Mars. Given the budget limitations, the space agency can achieve that only by giving up the costly shuttle program.

NASA must launch Discovery by Sunday or face a delay until the beginning of December because of unacceptable solar angles.

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Online:

NASA:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/
shuttle/main/index.html

[Associated Press; By MARCIA DUNN]

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