The Discovery is carrying six astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) and all of them have prior experience in space travel. The commander of the mission is Steven Lindsay who thanked everyone for getting the shuttle ready. "Discovery now making one last reach for the stars," said the Mission Control commentator, as the space shuttle blasted off from its launch tower. This was the 39th launch of Discovery. There were several anxious moments as a last minute problem with the computer threatened the launch but the problem was resolved soon and the space craft was able to launch three minutes behind the schedule.
Launch full of excitement
Chairman of the mission management team, Mike Moses said, "I would say we scripted it that way, but I could use a little less heart palpitation in the final couple seconds of the countdown." The roads leading to the Kennedy Space Centre were jammed with cars lined up two to three lanes deep. Some people said they have been sitting there before dawn. Local stores ran out of camera batteries and were offering cakes with shuttle pictures. Cameras onboard the shuttle showed that some pieces of insulation had fallen off the external fuel tank of the shuttle four minutes after the take off but by then it was late enough to pose any kind of a security risk. Discovery is the oldest among the three surviving space shuttles of NASA and is set to be decommissioned after this mission. It will be put in a museum most probably in the Smithsonian Institute for display after the mission.