Mission Specialist Joan Higginbotham is helmeted and ready to practice driving the armored personnel carrier.

STS-116 Mission Specialist Joan Higginbotham is helmeted and ready to practice driving the M-113 armored personnel carrier. The mission crew is at KSC for terminal countdown demonstration test (TCDT) activities that are preparation for launch. The M-113 could be used to move the crew quickly away from the launch pad in the event of an emergency. In the background is Mission Specialist Nicholas Patrick. The STS-116 mission is No. 20 to the International Space Station and construction flight 12A.1. The mission payload is the SPACEHAB module, the P5 integrated truss structure and other key components. Launch is scheduled for no earlier than Dec. 7. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett