Space shuttle Discovery made its final pre-dawn launch into orbit early Monday.

The nearly two-week mission includes four female astronauts and sets a record for the most women in space at a time.

The seven-member crew is carrying tons of cargo, science experiments and spare parts to the International Space Station.

Discovery is expected to reach the orbiting outpost Wednesday.

It is NASA's final stockpiling mission. There are only three more shuttle mission scheduled before the fleet is retired later this year.