Nasa has postponed the launch of the Discovery space shuttle to the end of November 2010, after detecting a hydrogen gas leak in the external tank of the spacecraft.

The delay will allow engineers and technicians time to diagnose and repair the gas leak, and assess a foam crack on the external fuel tank’s liquid oxygen intertank flange.

The crack was discovered during detanking operations.

During the 11-day STS-133 mission, discovery will deliver the permanent multipurpose module (PMM) to the International Space Station.

The PMM, converted from the multipurpose logistics module Leonardo, can hold microgravity experiments in areas such as fluid physics, materials science, biology, and biotechnology.

The PMM will also carry Robonaut 2, which will be used to test how dexterous robots behave in space.

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STS-133 is also carrying critical spare components to the space station and the express logistics carrier 4, and will feature two spacewalks to do maintenance work and install new components.