"The landing of the Discovery is a great joy. That means that the ISS project can continue until 2010," Perminov told journalists, emphasising the importance of the mission "not just for the United States but for all the countries participating in the project".

The Discovery, which landed safely Tuesday after a troubled 14-day mission, delivered 12 tonnes of equipment to the Russian and the American aboard ISS, and retrieved waste to clear out space in the cramped orbiting lab.

The NASA programme of shuttle launches is planned to end in 2010, but the station could continue to function beyond that date with planned launches by Russia and the European Space Agency, Perminov said.

The Discovery was the first shuttle flight since the 2003 Columbia disaster, which claimed the lives of all seven crew members and was blamed on insulation foam that fell off and damaged the orbiter upon takeoff.

Similar chunks of foam fell from the external tank when Discovery blasted off on July 26, but NASA said it caused no significant damage and cleared the craft for landing despite a tear on the cockpit's thermal blanket.

Discovery is now grounded with the rest of the fleet until the debris problem is resolved.

The US space agency is optimistic a solution will be found soon, and has tentatively scheduled the next launch for September 22.

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