Discovery is as it is being moved out of the Vehicle Assembly Building on its trek to Launch Pad 39A.

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery is in the spotlight as it is being moved atop the crawler-transporter out of the Vehicle Assembly Building on its 3.4-mile trek to Launch Pad 39A. It will take the shuttle, attached to its external fuel tank, twin solid rocket boosters and mobile launcher platform, about seven hours to complete the journey.

This is the second time Discovery has rolled out to the pad for the STS-133 mission, and comes after a thorough check and modifications to the shuttle's external tank. Targeted to liftoff Feb. 24, 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. For more information on STS-133, visit www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts133/. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux