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CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AFP) – NASA gave the green reddened for the expanse shuttle Discovery to blast soured Thursday, locution the countdown to the aging shuttle's final assignment before withdrawal was feat "beautifully."

Technical failures delayed Discovery's start in Nov 2010, but sunny defy and uncreased preparations gave engineers every communication that the 39th assignment for the past shuttle would travel on schedule.

The shuttle is set to displace soured from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on weekday at 4:50 pm (2150 GMT), carrying a six-member gathering of astronauts, a newborn loo power for the orbiting International Space Station, and a robot.

"Everything is on road and feat beautifully with the countdown," said assignment direction team administrator Mike Moses. "We're really looking forward to a very action-packed, flourishing mission."

After Discovery returns to Earth on March 7, it module embellish the prototypal expanse shuttle to enter withdrawal as the US information winds downbound after 30 years, leaving a field gap in American expanse flight.

Once all three remaining shuttles in the American fast are retired after this year, the sole method of instrumentation for astronauts to and from the ISS module be the Russian expanse program's Soyuz capsule.

Cracks on Discovery's right render cell emerged meet before start in November, causing engineers to teaser for many weeks over the drive and how to mend it.

In January, engineers agreed that instalment small metal strips, titled length blocks, on the 22-foot-long U-shaped metal brackets, titled stringers, would fortify their strength.

Shuttle start administrator Mike Leinbach said the teams preparing Discovery this instance had institute "no problems at all" as they calculate downbound toward lift-off.

"We're not chase any issues and it looks same Discovery module control this time," said Leinbach.

The rotating assist scheme around Discovery was to be pronounceable away on weekday evening, disclosing the shuttle on the launch-pad for the prototypal time.

The weight of the right render cell was to begin early weekday farewell at 7:25 am (1225 GMT). The astronauts were expected to board the shuttle at around 1:35 pm (1835 GMT).

The assignment module be led by commander Steven Lindsey, airman Eric Boe and astronauts Alvin Drew, archangel Barratt, Steve Bowen and Nicole Stott.

Astronaut Tim Kopra was scratched from the gathering itemize after a cycle accident in January. He was replaced by Bowen.

The gathering plans to have the Permanent Multipurpose Module, with extra storage expanse and an Atlantic for experiments, as well as whatever constituent parts and the Express Logistic Carrier, an right papers for super equipment.

The shuttle is also to alter the prototypal mechanism robot to the ISS. The Robonaut 2, or R2, is a joint project of General Motors and NASA and module meet behindhand when Discovery leaves as a imperishable resident of the ISS.

The defy prognosticate -- clear skies, light and a temperate wind -- was considered exceptionally good with only a 20 percent quantity of conditions that could retard the launch, NASA defy tar Kathy Winters said.

Discovery prototypal flew in 1984. Final flights for the another two remaining in the fleet, Atlantis and Endeavour, are regular for after this year.

Endeavour is set for its final takeoff on Apr 19 and a last assignment for Atlantis is regular for June 28, though funding for Atlantis relic in question.

There were initially fivesome expanse shuttles in the fast -- Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff in 1986 and river disintegrated on its way backwards to Earth in 2003.

The sixth shuttle, Enterprise, did effort flights in the atmosphere but was never flown into space. It is already on pass at a museum right Washington.

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