Injured astronaut aboard space shuttle 'in spirit'

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Injured astronaut aboard space shuttle 'in spirit'

The Associated Press Published Friday, February 25, 2011 12:51PM EST

Space shuttle Discovery lifts off from Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011. Discovery on its last mission to the International Space Station.(AP Photo/John Raoux)

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - An astronaut who should have been on space shuttle Discovery's final flight says he's there "in spirit."

Astronaut Timothy Kopra hobbled on crutches into Mission Control in Houston on Friday morning. He injured himself in a bicycle crash last month and had to drop out of the mission.

Kopra told the six shuttle astronauts that they had an awesome launch Thursday and he urged them to keep up the good work. The astronauts said they missed him and would make him proud. They had just begun surveying their ship for possible signs of launch damage when Kopra called.

Kopra helped develop the procedures for next week's pair of spacewalks outside the International Space Station. He'll assist from Mission Control.