Shuttle to head for launch pad

Posted on: Apr. 6th, 2005 || Source: cnn.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

(CNN) -- Thousands of people have spent the past two years remaking the space shuttle into a safer vehicle since the loss of the Columbia in 2003.

That vision will inch closer toward reality Wednesday when Discovery leaves its hangar for an eight-hour, four-mile journey to the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

"We feel very comfortable that this will be a very safe mission, and we would not launch if we didn't feel this would be a very safe launch," said Jessica Rye, a NASA spokeswoman.

As Discovery approaches its May 15 launch date, the shuttle carries a heavy burden.

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