NASA to replace injured shuttle astronaut

HOUSTON, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- NASA says it has chosen a replacement for an injured member of the crew of the U.S. space shuttle Discovery, set to launch next month.

Astronaut Steve Bowen, a veteran of five spacewalks and two spaceflights, will replace Tim Kopra, who was injured Jan. 15 in a bicycle crash, SPACE.com reported Wednesday.

"Tim is doing fine and expects a full recovery; however, he will not be able to support the launch window next month," Peggy Whitson, chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, said. "If for some unanticipated reason (the launch of) STS-133 slips significantly, it is possible that Tim could rejoin the crew."

Discovery is scheduled to launch Feb. 24 after months of delays due to fuel tank problems.

The crew change should not affect the mission's target launch date, NASA officials said.

"When you dedicate your life to something like this, it's definitely a setback," Whitson said. "Our guys are extremely professional and understand the big picture, overall risk and the requirement to the mission. As logical as all those arguments might be, I'm still sure that [Kopra]'s disappointed."