NASA plans Discovery launch May 15. Atlantis launch set for July 12.
(CNN) -- More than two years after losing the space shuttle Columbia and its seven crew, NASA said Friday it has set May 15 as its target date for once again launching shuttles into space.
NASA imposed its own restrictions, including that all shuttle launches are to go to the international space station so that if there were unrepairable damage, the astronauts could wait there for another shuttle to get them.
Because of these restrictions there are only a limited number of opportunities to launch the space shuttle. The first starts May 15 and runs through June 3, when NASA hopes to launch Discovery. The second window opens July 12, when NASA hopes to launch Atlantis.
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