Discovery's Last Launch a Spectacular Sight Space shuttle Discovery lifted off at 4:53 p.m. EST Thursday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with Commander Steve Lindsey leading the STS-133 crew to deliver the Permanent Multipurpose Module and the latest Robonaut version, R2, was delivered to the International Space Station by Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-133 on February 24, 2011, and as of March 2011, Robonaut 2 is undergoing testing aboard the ISS.

STS-133 crews are looking forward to bringing back the Discovery Space Shuttle which Nicole says that  “I’m looking forward to bringing her home to the people who care for her the most, to the time when we are on the runway and can look back and still see her standing on her own gear, with her own proud wings holding her up before she goes back to that hanger for the last time.”

STS-133 (ISS assembly flight ULF5) is the current mission in NASA's Space Shuttle program; during the mission, the shuttle docked with the International Space Station. It is the final planned mission of Space Shuttle Discovery, and was launched February 24, 2011. The crew consists of six American astronauts, all of whom had been on prior spaceflights, including Commander Steven Lindsey. The crew joined the long-duration six person crew of Expedition 26, who were already aboard the space station.  About a month before lift-off, one of the original crew members, Tim Kopra, was injured in a bicycle accident. He was replaced by Stephen Bowen.

The mission transported several items to the space station, such as the Permanent Multipurpose Module Leonardo, which is to be left permanently docked to one of the station's ports. The shuttle also carried the third of four ExPRESS Logistics Carriers to the ISS, as well as a humanoid robot called Robonaut.  The mission is the 39th and final flight of Discovery and the 133rd flight of the Space Shuttle program.

The mission was affected by a series of delays due to technical problems with the external tank and, to a lesser extent, the payload. The launch, initially scheduled for September 2010, was pushed back to October, then to November, then finally to February 2011.

Discovery Crew Prepares for Wednesday Landing Tue, 08 Mar 2011 01:48:28 PM PST Space shuttle Discovery’s crew is wrapping up final preparations for its planned landing at 11:57 a.m. EST at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew has stowed the Ku-Band antenna, used for high-data rate communications and television from space, and will go to sleep at 7:23 p.m.

Look forward to having STS-133 crews and Discovery back to their home land and for their safe journey....