Discovery blast-off on July 13

2005-06-30 22:25

Washington - The US space shuttle is set to launch July 13 for the first time in nearly two and a half years, after being grounded following the 2003 Columbia disaster, Nasa said on Thursday.

"Based on a very thorough, very successful review, we are currently (ready for a) launch of Discovery on July 13," said Nasa administrator Michael Griffin.

Nasa experts held a final "flight readiness review" meeting on Wednesday and Thursday, and the US space agency had said it would announce a launch date for Discovery for sometime between July 13 and July 31.

Engineers last week finished a detailed examination of modifications carried out to the space shuttles since Columbia caught fire and broke apart as it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere on February 1 2003, killing all seven crew members.

The disaster has been attributed to damage to the spacecraft after it was hit by chunks of insulating foam that broke off during lift-off.

- AFP