"The issue has been resolved, we are go for launch," said spokesman Kyle Herring.

The cover, used to keep windows clean until liftoff, fell about 20 meters (60 feet) onto one of the shuttle's orbital maneuvering systems, damaging some tiles.

NASA moved rapidly to replace the panel containing the tiles, officials said.

Discovery was scheduled to take off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 3:51 pm (1951 GMT) Wednesday, marking the first space shuttle flight sinceColumbia burst into flames upon reentering the Earth's atmosphere in February 2003.

earlier related report
Heads Up, Space Station, Discovery Is Ready To Blast Off
"It's time to get ready, I think we are on our way," NASA's shuttle program manager told two astronauts aboard the orbiting International Space Station that will be visited by the Discovery later this week.

Bill Parsons late Monday was pleased preparations were going perfectly for Wednesday's launch of the shuttle, the first since the Columbia's tragedy on February 2003.

"It's like Christmas is coming," said shuttle deputy program manager Wayne Hale, who like his boss and other NASA officials could hardly hide their glee at a press briefing.

Even the weather seems to be cooperating. The latest forecasts give a 70 percent probability of favorable conditions for launch, since hurricane Dennis' landing this weekend in western Florida reduced thunderstorm activity over the cape.

"We are ready to go fly," said Hale, who believes NASA has "reached an acceptable level of risk" for its shuttle missions, although he quickly added: "There are risks in space flights."

One day before the shuttle goes back to business as usual, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is confident the Discovery is safe now it has undergone the modifications dictated by the Columbia tragedy.

The most important change was to the external fuel tank from which a small piece of insulation broke off at launch and struck the Columbia's left wing, causing the damage that broke up the shuttled 16 days later on reentry.

The Discovery's mission, the shuttle program's 114th since it began in 1981, is designed to test new repair procedures and equipment to prevent another tragedy from occurring, and resupply the ISS.

NASA has also carried out internal reforms to better detect any danger lurking for astronauts. "People are a lot more empowered to bring issues to the management team," Hale told reporters.

Should the launch be canceled on Wednesday, the weather will be less cooperative on Thursday and Friday, with only a 60 percent chance of favorable conditions amid a growing threat of thunderstorms.

NASA cannot launch a shuttle if there is thunderstorm activity within 20 nautical miles (37 kilometers) of the Kennedy Space Center, since it can interfere with an emergency landing should it be needed after launch.

Twelve tons of equipment for the ISS have already been stashed in the Discovery's cargo hold and can stay there for as long as necessary, a NASA official said.

Discovery's launch is scheduled for 3:51 pm (1951 GMT) Wednesday, or any other moment during a 10-minute launch window.

If it is delayed, NASA has another three opportunities for launch in the following four days, before it needs to have a 72-hour break to put the shuttle and the launch center back on track.

Each day that goes by, the launch window will open 23 minutes earlier than the previous one.

In order to rendezvous with the orbiting ISS, the Discovery must be launched between July 13 and July 31, otherwise it will have to wait for the next opportunity on September 9-24.

earlier related report
Discovery Shuttle On Track For Return To Space Wednesday
The US space shuttle program's comeback following the 2003 Columbia disaster remained on track Monday, as the seven-member crew of the Discovery makes its final prelaunch preparations.

"The countdown is on schedule and we are tracking no significant issues," said Pete Nickolenko, test director for NASA, at a press conference on Monday.

Officials at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration were nervous but eager, as they prepared for Wednesday's 3:51 pm (1951 GMT) liftoff.

The countdown started Sunday at 6:00 pm local time (2200 GMT) and NASA said the passage of Hurricane Dennis over the weekend would not delay the launch.

NASA has had two long years to ponder the lessons of the tragic accident which killed the entire seven-member Columbia crew and very nearly led to the demise of America's vaunted space shuttle program.

During the two-and-a-half year hiatus, NASA made extensive improvements in the shuttle program and officials now declare it is better than ever before.

"With all the modifications, with all the improvements and changes and upgrades certainly we can, without hesitation, say this will be the safest vehicle that we've ever had to launch," NASA test director Jeff Spaulding said.

Discovery will embark on a 12-day mission with a packed agenda of tests and experiments, including a test flight to assess the new procedures and technical improvements put in place after the Columbia accident.

US spacecraft will also deliver vital supplies and equipment after docking with the International Space Station.

The February 2003 Columbia crash was blamed on a breach in the protective tiles that shield the aircraft's wings from extreme heat during re-entry into Earth. The break was caused when the edge of the shuttle's wing was struck with a piece of insulating foam that broke away from an external tank during liftoff.

According to an official probe of the accident, the breach allowed superheated air to penetrate and progressively melt the aluminum structure of the left wing.

NASA's steps to reform itself and has made changes to the shuttle to minimize the risk of space flight as much as possible.

It will introduce with this flight the use of enhanced imaging equipment to detect the slightest crack in the shuttle's thermal protection.

NASA also will use enhanced imaging equipment to examine Discovery during its return to space, scanning for damage that doomed Columbia.

In all, more than 100 cameras will be installed around the launch pad and at distances of between six and 60 kilometers (four to 35 miles) away, as well as on board two airplanes, to capture the spacecrafts first two minutes of ascent from every possible angle.

The crew has a full slate of activities and experiments planned. In one of the sorties, Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi and his American counterpart Stephen Robinson will test repair techniques that work back on Earth but are untested in orbit.

The ISS crew will also assist in the inspection by photographing the shuttle's underside shortly before its rendezvous with the space station.

Once in space, if images show that Discovery has been seriously damaged during ascent, the shuttle will remain docked with the ISS and its seven astronauts will wait there for another shuttle to bring them back to Earth, in what would be a first such rescue for the space program.

Discovery would then be pulled away from the ISS and allowed to plunge into the ocean.

Part of the thorough NASA overhaul was felt in the management of the US space agency itself: The Columbia Accident Investigation Board faulted NASA culture and its managers for being "as much a cause" of the crash as technical failures.

NASA says it has undergone a thorough management shakeup, changing its structure to take into account the diverging opinions of engineers and technicians, voices that were previously ignored by agency managers.

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