The space shuttle launch is 60 percent likely to happen on Nov. 5, NASA said. Possible high winds are the reason for the 40 percent of uncertainty, as a cold front is moving through Florida.
The trip will be Discovery’s last trip to the International Space Station.
It has a unique item aboard. “Robonaut 2, the first dexterous humanoid robot in space,” is making its first journey, according to NASA.
The robot is being developed to serve as an astronaut assistant, accomplishing repetitive or dangerous tasks. This trip is a test of its performance in microgravity.
The shuttle has traveled to its launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center and is scheduled to blast off at 3:04 p.m. EDT on Friday. Astronauts will deliver spare parts to the space station starting Nov. 7, and will stay in space until Nov. 16. The space shuttle launch was postponed on Thursday, Nov. 3 due to weather.
“We’re wrapping up the Space Shuttle Program,” said STS-133 Commander Steve Lindsey in a NASA press release. “Besides the excitement of completing the International Space Station and all the things we do, I hope people get a sense of the history of what the shuttle is and what we’ve done and what’s ending. Because they’ll probably never see anything like it flying again.”
The trip will be Discovery’s last trip to the International Space Station.
It has a unique item aboard. “Robonaut 2, the first dexterous humanoid robot in space,” is making its first journey, according to NASA.
The robot is being developed to serve as an astronaut assistant, accomplishing repetitive or dangerous tasks. This trip is a test of its performance in microgravity.
The shuttle has traveled to its launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center and is scheduled to blast off at 3:04 p.m. EDT on Friday. Astronauts will deliver spare parts to the space station starting Nov. 7, and will stay in space until Nov. 16. The space shuttle launch was postponed on Thursday, Nov. 3 due to weather.
“We’re wrapping up the Space Shuttle Program,” said STS-133 Commander Steve Lindsey in a NASA press release. “Besides the excitement of completing the International Space Station and all the things we do, I hope people get a sense of the history of what the shuttle is and what we’ve done and what’s ending. Because they’ll probably never see anything like it flying again.”
