In their place, a new spacecraft is being built that will be available in 2015 at the earliest.

Delayed takeoffs are common with space shuttle missions. The last shuttle to blast off, Endeavour, only did so in July after five scrubbed missions due to technical problems and bad weather.

The current planned 13-day mission is designed to transport new equipment and experiments to the International Space Station (ISS). Astronaut Nicole Stott is expected to relieve Timothy Kopra aboard the ISS, and three spacewalks are planned for the mission.

Discovery's crew for this mission includes six Americans and Swede Christer Fuglesang, flying for the European Space Agency.