Bill Parsons and Dave King director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center discuss the launch of Discovery.

In the firing room, Bill Parsons (left), director of NASA's Kennedy Space Center, and Dave King, director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, discuss the imminent launch of space shuttle Discovery on its STS-124 mission. Discovery is making its 35th flight. The STS-124 mission is the 26th in the assembly of the space station. It is the second of three flights launching components to complete the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. The shuttle crew will install Kibo's large Japanese Pressurized Module and its remote manipulator system, or RMS. The 14-day flight includes three spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett