At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crawler-transporter is ready to carry space shuttle Discovery from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39A in a move known as "rollout." It will take the shuttle, attached to its external fuel tank, twin solid rocket boosters and mobile launcher platform, about six hours to complete the move. Rollout sets the stage for Discovery's STS-133 crew to practice countdown and launch procedures during the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test in mid-October.
Targeted to liftoff Nov. 1, Discovery will take the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) packed with supplies and critical spare parts, as well as Robonaut 2 (R2) to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
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