Discovery is visible on Launch Pad 39A before the rotating service structure is moved into place.

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery is visible on Launch Pad 39A before the rotating service structure, which protects it from the elements and provides access to the shuttle, is moved into place. The illusion of the crawler-transporter that carried the spacecraft from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the pad sits outside the perimeter gate. 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/Jim Grossmann