Discovery, Weather Look Good for Thursday Launch

The launch team at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida continues to set up space shuttle Discovery for its last flight into orbit, scheduled to begin with a liftoff Thursday at 4:50 p.m. EST.

"She still has a few more miles before she sleeps," said Jeff Spaulding, NASA test director. Discovery has flown more than any other shuttle, including two return-to-flight missions and the deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Launch day weather is also shaping up nicely, with the current forecast calling for an 80 percent chance of acceptable conditions.

"It's been really nice weather for prelaunch processing and that's going to continue," said Kathy Winters, shuttle weather officer.

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