At T-9 minutes and counting, space shuttle Discovery is moving toward an on-time liftoff at 4:50 p.m. EST. During the hold, a series of polls will be conducted to verify the readiness of managers and engineers at Kennedy Space Center and Mission Control in Houston to proceed with launch.
Discovery is embarking on its last mission. It will carry the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module, or PMM, to the International Space Station. The PMM has been loaded with supplies, experiments, equipment and a humanoid robot assistant for the station. The Robotic astronaut is called Robonaut 2 and it will become the first robot of its kind to fly into and work in space.