spacetoday.net: NASA sets STS-133 launch for Thursday

Posted: Sat, Feb 19, 2011, 6:19 AM ET (1119 GMT)
STS-133: revised logo (NASA)

NASA managers confirmed Friday a February 24th launch date for the space shuttle Discovery. The shuttle will lift off on STS-133 at 4:50 pm EST (2150 GMT) Thursday, the date the agency had been planning towards but officially confirmed at the end of the flight readiness review on Friday. There had been concerns that the one-day delay in the launch Wednesday of a European ATV cargo spacecraft would push back the shuttle launch by a day as well, but officials concluded that a Thursday launch could proceed, as the ATV will dock with the station several hours before the shuttle launch. The mission had been planned for early November but was delayed by over three months to correct issues with the shuttle's external tank. The mission, the final scheduled launch of Discovery, will deliver a logistics module that will remain attached to the station after the shuttle leaves.