It’s a long way to go to change a fuse — and the nine-figure call-out fee might be considered astronomical.

But Nicholas Patrick, a British astronaut, was cleared for launch yesterday as Nasa gave final approval for its most complex shuttle mission in years, to expand the International Space Station and rewire its electrical systems.

The former Harrow schoolboy and Cambridge University engineering graduate is part of a seven-strong crew that is due to lift off next week from Kennedy Space Centre, Florida. He will be only the fourth Briton to go into space.

The $450 million (£230 million) mission will be the first time that Nasa has gambled on a night-time shuttle launch since before the Columbia disaster in 2003, when seven astronauts died in re-entry after debris had gouged a hole in their spacecraft during lift-off.

Daylight launches allow analysts to spot debris strikes more clearly than at night. But increased confidence in safety measures, and scheduling pressures — which include the need to get Discovery back before midnight on New Year’s Eve, because its computers are thrown into confusion by changes in the calendar year — prompted Nasa to lift its ban on blasting off in the dark.

It will aim to launch Discovery at 9.36pm next Thursday.

Dr Patrick, 42, from Saltburn, North Yorkshire, and his crewmates are spending their final week in quarantine to avoid illnesses. It is an opportunity, he says, for some rest after the arrival two months ago of his third child and second son, Cameron. “I’m going into quarantine to catch up on some sleep,” he joked.

His wife, Rossana, a doctor, and their two other children, aged 4 and 3, will be at the space centre at Cape Canaveral to watch the launch, with his parents Stewart and Gillian.

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