Processing Facility William Oefelein gets a close look at the underside of the orbiter Discovery.

In the Orbiter Processing Facility, STS-116 Pilot William Oefelein (left) gets a close look at the underside of the orbiter Discovery. At right, Mission Specialists Robert Curbeam and Christer Fugelsang are practicing with cameras similar to those the crew will use on the mission. Fugelsang represents the European Space Agency. The crew is at KSC for a Crew Equipment Interface Test. Mission crews make frequent trips to the Kennedy Space Center to become familiar with the equipment and payloads they will be using. STS-116 will be mission 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