space shuttle ‘Discovery’ would blast off from Cape Canaveral tonight on its last journey

The Space Shuttle Discovery is pictured on launch pad 39A after launch was again delayed at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral

The space shuttle ‘Discovery’ would blast off from Cape Canaveral tonight on its last journey – it had been launched in 1981 by NASA 30 years ago and, in view of the decision to gradually close down the space shuttle programs, the ground crew would, with a heavy heart, see it off on its last journey. In this period, it had clocked nearly 150 million miles, and circled the world more than 5000 times at speeds of 17,000 mph. There would be six astronauts aboard Discovery on its last flight – they would be going with supplies meant for International Space Station, and would drop off a robot there. The robot – Robonaut- would be the first ever humanoid in space