The shuttle launch was initially set for November but was scratched after leaks were found in the external fuel tank. An exhaustive review followed and engineers finally found ways to shore up the cracks in January.

The launch date was set weeks ago but NASA confirmed it after a flight readiness review meeting on Friday.

"During the meeting, senior NASA and contractor managers assessed the risks associated with the mission and determined the shuttle and station's equipment, support systems and personnel are ready," the space agency said in a statement.

The launch is scheduled for 4:50 pm (2150 GMT) on Thursday, February 24.

Six astronauts will be on board for an 11-day mission to the International Space Station. The crew will deliver a Permanent Multipurpose Module for extra storage and space for experiments.

"The PMM also carries Robonaut 2, the first human-like robot in space, which will become a permanent resident of the station," NASA said.

Discovery's launch will occur six hours after the planned docking of the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle-2 Johannes Kepler to the space station, the US space agency added.

The three US shuttles -- the other two are Atlantis and Endeavour -- are due to become museum pieces once the final shuttle mission takes place.

Endeavour is set for takeoff on April 19 and Atlantis is scheduled for June 28, after which the famed fleet will be retired.

earlier related report
Bolden to announce fate of shuttles
Cape Canaveral, Fla. (UPI) Feb 18, 2011 - NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden says he will decide by this spring where the agency's three shuttle orbiters will be housed in their retirement.

Bolden says he will decide where to place Atlantis and Endeavour, while the shuttle Discovery likely is headed to the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum, Florida Today reported Friday.

The Boeing Co. is donating $5 million to the Air Force museum in Dayton, Ohio, that a senator hopes will help it acquire one of the retired shuttle orbiters.

"Boeing's generous donation marks more good news for bringing the shuttle to the Miami Valley," Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said. "I will continue to work with the Ohio congressional delegation on a bipartisan basis to bring the shuttle to its most suitable home: the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson (Air Force Base)."

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said he is still pushing for the Kennedy Space Center to retain an orbiter.

"Don't worry about all this Ohio stuff," Nelson said. "Remember, the last shuttle flight is much later this year. Then, they've got to go through all the stuff to prepare the orbiters for the museum. We've got plenty of time."

Bolden, in the meantime, did have some good news for Florida's Space Coast.

He planned to formally announce "within the next few weeks, if not days" that Kennedy Space Center would be the home of the NASA office that oversees the development and operation of commercial space taxis, he said.

That work historically has been done at Johnson Space Center in Houston or NASA headquarters in Washington, Florida Today said.

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