CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Space shuttle Discovery blasted off for the last time Thursday, carrying six astronauts and carting a load of supplies, spare parts and a robot for the International Space Station.

The shuttle Discovery blasted off on its final mission into orbit, marking the beginning of the end for what has been a central part of the US space program for three decades.

The shuttle Discovery has blasted off on its final mission into orbit, marking the beginning of the end for what has been a central mission of the US space program for three decades.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Space shuttle Discovery blasted off for the last time Thursday, carrying six astronauts and carting a load of supplies, spare parts and a robot for the International Space Station.

The shuttle Discovery blasted off Thursday on its final odyssey into orbit, marking the beginning of the end for what has been a central mission of the US space program for three decades.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Space shuttle Discovery blasted off for the last time on Thursday, carrying six astronauts and carting a load of supplies, spare parts and a robot for the International Space Station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Space shuttle Discovery was fueled for liftoff on Thursday on its final mission to carry supplies and spare parts to the International Space Station.

NASA gave the green light for the space shuttle Discovery to blast off Thursday, saying the countdown to the aging shuttle's final mission before retirement was going "beautifully."

NASA said Tuesday the space shuttle Discovery is "ready to fly" on its final mission to the International Space Station and weather looks good for launch on February 24.

The space shuttle Discovery is scheduled to launch on February 24 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, its last flight before being retired as the US shuttle program winds down, NASA said Friday.

Inspectors found no damage to the Space Shuttle Discovery or to its external reserve tanks after a thin multi-piece measuring tool fell during repair work, NASA said Thursday.

US lawmaker Gabrielle Giffords has begun speaking as she continues her stunning recovery a month after being shot in the head -- and one of her first requests was for toast.

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Representative Gabrielle Giffords has begun to regain her speech a month after being shot in the head in an assassination attempt, and has even requested toast for breakfast, her spokesman said on Wednesday.

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Representative Gabrielle Giffords has begun to regain her speech a month after being shot in the head in an assassination attempt, and has even requested toast for breakfast, her spokesman said on Wednesday.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - The husband of Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona congresswoman critically wounded in an assassination attempt last month, will command the space shuttle Endeavour when it launches in April, NASA said on Friday.

The astronaut husband of wounded US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords said Friday he will lead the final mission of the space shuttle Endeavour in April and plans to resume training next week.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - The astronaut husband of Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona congresswoman critically wounded in an assassination attempt last month, will be aboard space shuttle Endeavour when it lifts off on its final mission in April, NASA said on Friday.

The US space shuttle Discovery was rolled out to the launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida ahead of its planned liftoff on February 24, NASA said Tuesday.

HERZLIYA, Israel (Reuters) - The astronaut husband of a U.S. congresswoman seriously wounded when she was shot in head will decide by mid-February whether to join the last NASA shuttle launch as scheduled, the space agency said Sunday.

Tributes were planned at Florida's Kennedy Space Center Friday marking 25 years to the day that the shuttle Challenger exploded, killing seven astronauts and forever altering US perceptions about the risks of human spaceflight.