Gwyneth Paltrow rouses Discovery crew

Singing thesp heralds last hours in space

The crew of space shuttle Discovery was roused this morning by Gwyneth Paltrow's Coming Home, a choice wake-up ditty selected by the space station flight controllers in Mission Control.

The venerable vehicle is on track to land at Kennedy Space Center at 16:57 GMT at the end of its final mission - STS-133 to the International Space Station. Capcom Charlie Hobaugh enthused to commander Steve Lindsey: “The weather looks great.”

If all doesn't go according to plan, Discovery has another landing opportunity at Kennedy at 18:34 GMT, and "additional opportunities are available on Thursday at Kennedy and at backup landing site Edwards Air Force Base in California". ®