Space shuttle Discovery now sits on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida -- a major milestone met for the STS-119 mission. The approximate six-hour trip was complete at 12:16 p.m. EST Jan. 14.The rotating service structure was moved into place around the shuttle to protect it from inclement weather and provide protected access to the orbiter for installation and servicing of payloads at the pad.
At NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, the STS-119 crew members are rehearsing spacewalking techniques in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. Later today Commander Lee Archambault and Pilot Tony Antonelli will fly to Edwards Air Force Base in California for landing practice in NASA's Shuttle Training Aircraft.
The Space Shuttle Program's two-day Flight Readiness Review is scheduled for Jan. 12-22. On Feb. 3 NASA senior managers will hold an Executive Review to set the official launch date for STS-119's 14-day mission to the International Space Station.
Commander Lee Archambault will lead a crew of seven, along with Pilot Tony Antonelli, and Mission Specialists Joseph Acaba, John Phillips, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata.
The astronauts will fly to Kennedy for a full-dress rehearsal called the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, or TCDT, scheduled for Jan. 19-21. They will have the opportunity to check out the spacecraft and payload, try on their custom-made flight suits and review safety procedures.
Discovery's STS-119 mission to the International Space Station is targeted to lift off at 7:32 a.m. EST, Feb. 12.
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