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http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/02/24/space-shuttle-discovery-fueled-tonights-final-flight/
Space Shuttle Discovery Fueled for Tonight's Final Flight

Published February 24, 2011 | Associated Press

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida - NASA's most traveled space shuttle, Discovery,
was fueled Thursday for its final voyage after nearly three decades of
service.

NASA finished pumping hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel into
Discovery at midmorning, as the six astronauts assigned to the space
station delivery mission got ready at crew quarters for the late
afternoon liftoff. It was their second stab at this. November's launch
attempt never made it this far.

Launch director Mike Leinbach said everything finally seemed to be
coming together. Even the weather was looking up: the forecast improved
to 90 percent "go" for the 4:50 p.m. (2150 GMT) liftoff.

"I think the weather's going to be good," Leinbach said Thursday
morning. "It's a machine so you never know until the final seconds on
the clock if all pieces of the machine are going to behave. But right
now, it feels good."

This time, no hydrogen gas seeped out during fueling. NASA also was
confident no cracks would develop in the external fuel tank. Both
problems cropped up during the initial countdown in November, and the
repairs took almost four months. The cracks in the midsection of the
tank, which holds instruments but no fuel, could have been dangerous.

Discovery will head to the International Space Station with the crew, as
well as a load of supplies and a humanoid robot.

This will be the 39th flight for Discovery, set to become the first of
the three surviving space shuttles to be retired this year and sent to a
museum. It has since logged 143 million miles (230 million kilometers)
since its first flight in 1984.

NASA expects 40,000 guests on hand for Discovery's farewell launch,
including a small contingent from Congress. Watching with special
interest from Mission Control in Houston will be astronaut Timothy
Kopra, who was supposed to be the flight's lead spacewalker. He was hurt
in a bicycle crash last month and was replaced by Stephen Bowen, who
will become the first astronaut to fly back-to-back shuttle missions.

Well before dawn, recreational vehicles already lined nearby roads
offering the best views of liftoff. Signs outside businesses and
government offices in the neighboring towns of Cape Canaveral and Cocoa
Beach offered words of encouragement. "The heavens await Discovery," one
church proclaimed. Local grocery stores stocked up on extra red, white
and blue cakes adorned with shuttle pictures.

Leinbach noted that it would be "tough" to see Discovery soar one last
time. "What will be most difficult will be on landing day when we know
that that's the end of her mission completely," he said.

Discovery will spend 11 days in orbit -- on top of the 352 days it's
already spent circling the planet -- and will rack up another 4.5
million miles (7.2 million kilometers).

Its list of achievements include delivering the Hubble Space Telescope
to orbit, carrying the first Russian cosmonaut to launch on a U.S.
spaceship, returning Mercury astronaut John Glenn to orbit, and bringing
shuttle flights back to life after the Challenger and Columbia
accidents.

"She's been an amazing machine," Leinbach said Wednesday. "She's done
everything we've asked of her."

Heading up Discovery's veteran crew is retired Air Force Col. Steven
Lindsey. Two of his crew actually lived on the space station in 2009.
During the 11-day flight, they will deliver and install a closet-like
compartment full of space station supplies -- made in Italy and named
Leonardo for il Signor da Vinci.

Packed inside the compartment is Robonaut 2, or R2, set to become the
first humanoid robot in space. The experimental machine -- looking human
from the waist up -- will remain boxed until after Discovery departs.

Up at the space station, meanwhile, the six-person crew welcomed a
European cargo ship that was launched last week from French Guiana. It
docked successfully just six hours before Discovery's planned liftoff,
keeping the shuttle countdown on track.

NASA is under presidential direction to retire the shuttle fleet this
summer, let private companies take over trips to orbit and focus on
getting astronauts to asteroids and Mars. There's been considerable
disagreement among lawmakers and the space community on how best to
accomplish this.

"Godspeed Discovery," retired space shuttle program manager Wayne Hale
said in a Twitter update Thursday. "Prayers for a safe flight and wisdom
for decision makers."



Jan Rasmussen