Space shuttle crew arrives in Florida for launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida - The seven astronauts scheduled to fly aboard the space shuttle Discovery arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida this morning to prepare for Saturday's planned liftoff.

The flight, which is bound for the International Space Station, will be the shuttle's second since the Columbia accident killed seven astronauts more than three years ago. The launch is scheduled for 3.49 pm EDT (7.49am Sunday NZT).

"It's really great to finally be here in Florida for the launch," said Discovery's flight engineer Lisa Nowak, one of three rookie astronauts on the crew, which flew to Florida from Houston.

About the only hurdle in the way of launch could be the weather. Central Florida has been socked by seasonal rain and thunderstorms for the past several days.

"I'm hoping the weather is going to improve over the next couple of days," said astronaut Piers Sellers, who is scheduled to make at least two spacewalks during Discovery's 12-day mission to the space station.

Nasa was to begin forecasting the weather for launch day tomorrow.

The agency grounded the shuttle fleet after Columbia disintegrated over Texas in 2003. The spacecraft was struck by a chunk of falling foam insulation from the shuttle's fuel tank during its climb to orbit and was destroyed 16 days later as it attempted to fly through the atmosphere for landing.

Engineers redesigned the fuel tank but it continued to shed large pieces of foam during Discovery's launch on July 26, 2005, the only shuttle flight since the Columbia disaster.

The Discovery crew was luckier but Nasa grounded the fleet again for additional repairs.

"We're as prepared as we're ever going to be," said astronaut Steven Lindsey, the commander of the current Discovery crew.

In addition to test-flying Discovery's remodelled fuel tank, the shuttle will be ferrying 2 tonnes of supplies and new equipment to the space station, as well as a new crewmember -- German-born Thomas Reiter of the European Space Agency.

"This really puts us back on track to completing assembly of the ISS," station flight engineer Jeffrey Williams said during an inflight press conference today.

The station was stripped of its third crewmember while the shuttle, which delivers the bulk of the station's supplies, was grounded after the Columbia accident.

With just two people aboard, science operations have been curtailed and construction of the half-built outpost has ceased. If Discovery's flight is successful, Nasa plans to resume station assembly beginning with a late August or early September launch of shuttle Atlantis.

Rounding out the Discovery crew are pilot Mark Kelly and first-time fliers Michael Fossum and Stephanie Wilson. Reiter previously flew a 179-day mission on Russia's Mir space station.

- REUTERS