monitor one last space shuttle mission.

The Cooper's Island space scientists are due to leave the station within ten months and they only played a secondary role during last month's space shuttle launch.

But directors at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in Houston have given Bermuda the green light for another frontline duty.

And Island-based NASA experts are treating next month's mission as a final chance to play a key role in tracking the shuttle.

Only one of Bermuda's two tracking radars was used to follow the Columbia last month.

The data sent back to Houston was only treated as a back-up with most on-board information being relayed to a satellite.

But the Bermuda station will be brought back into the main communications link during the next space shuttle launch, scheduled for January 15.

NASA directors gave a full mission brief to the Bermuda station on Sunday.

The Bermuda aeronautics experts were told to track the shuttle Discovery for a five-and-a-half minute spell during take-off.

NASA station manager Bill Way said: "There's quite a lot of excitement about this mission because it could well be the last time we're called on to monitor the space shuttle from the front line.

"The next launch in April will see the shuttle fly directly over Bermuda so it's possible we could be involved in that. But this time we will be doing almost exactly the same things as we have been doing during space shuttle missions for the past 16 years.'' It is understood computer technology still needs to be perfected for the tracking relay satellite which will be used to monitor the space shuttle in future.

And NASA have instructed shuttle pilots to make the space-craft do a 180-degree roll on every mission from now on, to learn how to engage the satellite.

The Discovery, which will link up with the Russian space station Mir, will be in orbit for 14 days.

Mr. Way added: "Hopefully, we're going to be heavily involved in this next mission and that's why we're looking forward it so much.

"In fact, we only found out about our role a couple of days ago and it could be the last time we are so closely involved with the space shuttle before the station closes.

"This time, we will track the shuttle six minutes from launch to 11-and-a-half minutes into the flight. Then we will hand over to the tracking relay satellite.

"The April mission almost goes directly over Bermuda because the shuttle will take off on a 39-degree inclination orbit.''