Asia-Pacific

NASA to launch space shuttle Discovery on Feb 24

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-02-19 14:16

WASHINGTON - Space shuttle Discovery is scheduled to begin an 11-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) with a launch at 4:50 pm EST (2050 GMT) on February 24, The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced Friday.

The STS-133 mission is Discovery's final scheduled flight, according to NASA.

Discovery's launch date was announced at the conclusion of a flight readiness review at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During the meeting, senior NASA and contractor managers assessed the risks associated with the mission and determined the shuttle and station's equipment, support systems and personnel are ready.

The six astronauts for the mission will deliver the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) to ISS. The PMM was converted from the multipurpose logistics module Leonardo and will provide additional storage for the station crew. Experiments in such fields as fluid physics, materials science, biology and biotechnology may be conducted inside the module.

The PMM also carries Robonaut 2, the first human-like robot in space, which will become a permanent resident of the station. In addition, the flight will deliver critical spare parts and the Express Logistics Carrier 4, an external platform that holds large equipment.