At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery's STS-133 Mission Specialist Alvin Drew, left, jokes around with Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach on the Shuttle Landing Facility runway after arriving in a T-38 training jet. Looking on are Chief of the Vehicle Integration Test Office at Johnson Space Center Jerry Ross and STS-133 Pilot Eric Boe. In the days leading up to their launch to the International Space Station, Drew and his crew members will check the fit of their launch-and-entry suits, review launch-day procedures, receive weather briefings and remain medically quarantined to prevent sickness.
Scheduled to lift off Nov. 1 at 4:40 p.m., Discovery and crew will deliver the Permanent Multipurpose Module, packed with supplies and critical spare parts, as well as Robonaut 2, the dexterous humanoid astronaut helper, to the orbiting outpost. For more information on the STS-133 mission, visit www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts133/. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett