Discovery starts first leg of final flight

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Sept. 10 (UPI) -- The space shuttle Discovery rolled out of its hangar at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on the first leg of its final mission into space, officials said.

Discovery, the oldest space shuttle in NASA's fleet, was moved from its maintenance hangar early Thursday on its way to the nearby Vehicle Assembly Building, Space.com reported.

The move had been planned for Wednesday but a broken water main at the facility delayed the move, NASA said.

Discovery's final fight will mark its 39th flight to space and NASA's 133rd shuttle flight since the program began launches in 1981.

The mission will be the second-to-last before NASA retires the fleet next year.

Discovery's final mission will deliver a storage room for the International Space Station and a humanoid robot assistant for the outpost's astronaut crew, NASA said.

The launch is scheduled for Nov. 1.