Nasa has approved a Monday morning launch attempt for the space shuttle Endeavour after reviewing all the repairs for an electrical problem that grounded the next-to-last flight two weeks ago.

DISCOVERY, the world’s most travelled spaceship, thundered into orbit for the final time yesterday, heading toward the International Space Station on a journey that marks the beginning of the end of the shuttle era.

A potentially dangerous hydrogen gas leak during fuelling yesterday caused yet another delay for space shuttle Discovery’s final voyage — possibly until the end of the month.

CLOUDS prevented the space shuttle Endeavour from blasting off yesterday on the last planned nighttime shuttle launch, delaying its trip with a final few building blocks for the International Space Station.

From the Johnson Space Centre in Texas to Capitol Hill in Washington DC, the relief was obvious when space shuttle Discovery safely returned to terra firma.