Space shuttle Discovery astronauts are taking a little off-duty time today after performing two spacewalks and maintenance on the International Space Station (ISS).

News media and the public are invited to observe the live televised broadcast of the launch of STS-133 space shuttle Discovery at 1:50 pm PST on Thursday, Feb 24, 2011 in the Exploration Center at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.

Space Shuttle Discovery's final flight is currently scheduled to begin Thursday afternoon at 4:50pm EST, as the venerable spacecraft departs from Kennedy Space Center in Florida for an 11-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

News conferences, events and operating hours for the news center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla, are set for the final scheduled launch of space shuttle Discovery.

Space shuttle Discovery is scheduled to begin an 11-day mission to the International Space Station with a launch at 4:50 pm EST on Thursday, Feb 24, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.