STS-116 Mission Specialist Joan Higginbotham gets a close look at equipment in the orbiter Discovery's mid-deck.

In the Orbiter Processing Facility, STS-116 Mission Specialist Joan Higginbotham gets a close look at equipment in the orbiter Discovery’s mid-deck. She and other crew members are taking part in a Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT). A CEIT allows astronauts to become familiar with equipment and hardware they will use on the mission. 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