Discovery shuttle set for night launch
Space shuttle Discovery’s seven astronauts arrived at the Kennedy Space Center for a final stretch of training and preparations before they are launched on a 12-day mission to rewire the International Space Station.
The shuttle will drop off astronaut Sunita Williams for a six-month stay at the space lab. German astronaut Thomas Reiter, of the European Space Agency, who has been living at the space station since July, will take Williams’ place aboard Discovery for the trip back to Earth.
Liftoff was set for Thursday at 9:35 p.m. EST. It will be the first night launch in four years.
“We’re going to go ahead and hopefully have one heck of a night show to give everybody this Thursday night,” Mark Polansky, Discovery’s commander, said after he and his crew flew in from Houston.
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