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NASA: Space shuttle Discovery to take off Wednesday

By the CNN Wire Staff
Space shuttle Discovery sits on its launch pad Saturday in Cape Canaveral, Florida, awaiting its launch Wednesday.
Space shuttle Discovery sits on its launch pad Saturday in Cape Canaveral, Florida, awaiting its launch Wednesday.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • NASA officials confident that Discovery's launch will go as scheduled
  • Crew of six astronauts set to go on an 11-day mission
  • Orbital Maneuvering System Pod repaired
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(CNN) -- NASA officials said Saturday they are confident that space shuttle Discovery's Wednesday launch will go as scheduled, sending a crew of six astronauts to the International Space Station on an 11-day mission.

NASA Test Director Jeff Spaulding said mechanical repairs on the shuttle's system used to pressurize Discovery's right hand Orbital Maneuvering System Pod have been successful.

"Right now we're in a good path to get there," Spaulding said.

The shuttle is scheduled to launch Wednesday. The targeted launch time is 3:52 p.m. ET, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the shuttle's launch and landing site.

Initially, a mechanical problem had forced NASA to delay the final launch of the Discovery, the space agency said Friday.

The original Monday launch date was delayed after officials found an air leak in the Orbital Maneuvering System Pod, NASA announced.

The weather forecast for Wednesday's launch calls for a 70 percent chance of acceptable conditions, NASA weather officials said.

Discovery's 11-day flight is expected to be a "very busy mission," NASA Flight Director Bryan Lunney said.

"After we fly around the Earth about 170 times, Discovery will come home for its last flight," Lunney said during a news conference last month. "The crew is ready to go."

The six-member crew, led by Cmdr. Steven Lindsey, will install a new "permanent multipurpose module" called Leonardo on the International Space Station.

This will be the 133rd space shuttle mission and the final one for Discovery. The shuttle Endeavour is set to launch February 26, and Congress passed a bill this month authorizing another, final space shuttle mission.