Free-rider: This free-tailed bat was hanging on to the space shuttle Discovery as the countdown proceeded.

Credit: NASA

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WASHINGTON DC: The seven astronauts onboard the space shuttle Discovery had an unexpected companion during their lift-off from the Kennedy Space Centre earlier this week, the U.S. space agency said.

According to NASA, the crew was joined by a free-tailed bat (Nyctinomops), which clung to the side of Discovery's external fuel tank as it rocketed toward the heavens.

"Lift-off imagery analysis confirmed that he held on until at least the vehicle cleared (the) tower before we lost sight of him," said a NASA memo.

Ride of a lifetime

"He did change the direction he was pointing from time to time throughout countdown, but ultimately never flew away… Infrared imagery shows he was alive and not frozen like many would think."

While stuck to the tank – containing two million litres of liquid oxygen and hydrogen rocket fuel – wildlife experts believe the bat also had to contend with a broken left wing and a sore right shoulder, or wrist.

The bat's current health and whereabouts are not known, although NASA believes his space adventure was short-lived. "The animal likely perished quickly during Discovery's climb into orbit," a NASA official said.

The bat was not the first of its species to attempt space travel. Another bat was seen gripping the external tank of the Endeavour in 1996 and one briefly clung to the Columbia space shuttle in 1998 but flew off before lift-off.