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The launch of Space Shuttle Discovery mission STS-121 (planned for July 1) has been moved to July 4. This will be the 115th shuttle flight.

Date: Saturday, July 4

• Launch time: 14:38 EDT
• - 19:38 - Ireland and the UK

• - 21:38 - Baltic states, Finland

There remains a probability that the launch may be rescheduled if weather conditions are not appropriate. If that is the case I will update the launch date/time shown here with the new information.

Update: Launch planned for July 1, 15:49 EDT was postponed for 24 hours due to bad weather.
Update 2: Launch was postponed for 48 hours again due to bad weather and is now planned for Tuesday, July 4.

You can view the flight preparations, launch and the shuttle mission online:

• NASA Online TV

NASA pays a lot of attention to the mission safety and this is the first time when shuttle is equipped with a remote control device which could be used to salvage the vehicle of it is considered unsafe for the return of the crew (in which case the crew will stay at the International Space Station).

STS-121 Shuttle Mission - Press Kit [PDF]

The press kit is a 100+ page document with detailed information about the mission, crew, planned space-walks and everything else imaginable.

More information:

• Space Shuttle mission page