Space Shuttle Discovery has safely reached the launch pad at Cape Canaveral in anticipation of its final launch before retirement. A Terminal Countdown Demonstration dress rehearsal is scheduled for 12-15 October, before mission STS-133 lifts off on 1 November. The 11-day mission - the 35th Shuttle flight to the International Space Station and the 39th flight for Discovery - will deliver the Permanent Multipurpose Module packed with supplies and critical spare parts, as well as the human-like robot Robonaut 2 to the International Space Station. The last shuttle flight, of the orbiter Endeavour, is scheduled for February 2011.

Space Shuttle Discovery
 © NASA

Source: Flight International

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