Shuttle ready for blast-off

Final preparations for are under way at Kennedy Space Centre, in Florida, for the launch of the shuttle Atlantis.

The fuelling external tank has been completed and the five-member crew are now on board making pre-flight checks.

The shuttle will make a pre-dawn blast off on its mission to deliver an airlock to the International Space Station.

Mission number STS-104, already a month behind schedule due to technical problems on board the ISS, had faced further delays because of weather conditions in Florida.

But forecasters are saying the weather is more favourable for this morning's launch.