William Parsons and Stephanie Stilson greet STS-116 Mission Specialists Robert Curbeam and Nicholas Patrick after they arrive for the Crew Equipment Interface Test.

From left, at Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility, Deputy Director William Parsons and Discovery Flow Director Stephanie Stilson greet STS-116 Mission Specialists Robert Curbeam and Nicholas Patrick after they arrive for the Crew Equipment Interface Test. Mission crews make frequent trips to the Space Coast 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