Washington, March 27 (DPA) NASA managers gave the green signal to launch the shuttle Discovery April 5 amidst reports that it could extend the shuttle programme till 2011.
NASA managers completed their all-day flight readiness review Friday and said there were "no unresolved" issues that could prevent or delay the mission, set to take off on Easter Monday.
"We are ready to fly," said Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations.
Although NASA intended to close down the ageing shuttle programme by September of this year, a report released Thursday indicated that the launch schedule could overlap until February 2011.
The report by NASA's inspector general based its projection on NASA's launch history and regular delayed starts, according to media reports.