Ken Tauer and Paul Ogletree check an area on Discovery's nose cap before conducting thermography on the nose cap.

In the Orbiter Processing Facility, Ken Tauer (left) and Paul Ogletree, with United Space Alliance, check an area on Discovery’s nose cap before conducting thermography on the nose cap. At the bottom, Ross Neubarth looks at the monitor. Thermography is one type of inspection to verify integrity of hardware before flight. This procedure uses high intensity light to heat areas that are immediately scanned with an infrared camera to check for internal flaws. Discovery is the vehicle assigned to the Return to Flight mission, STS-114.