[sarex] Discovery's Tank and Boosters Readied for October Liftoff

[Arthur Rowe]

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468

*Discovery's Tank and Boosters Readied for October Liftoff*

Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in 
Florida, technicians are attaching the external tank to the twin solid 
rocket boosters in preparation for the launch of mission STS-120, 
targeted for Oct. 23.

In the nearby Orbiter Processing Facility, preparations of Discovery 
continue, and its payload bay doors have been closed in advance of the 
orbiter's move to the giant assembly building. The main payload for the 
mission, the U.S. Harmony Node 2 module for the International Space 
Station, will be loaded inside Discovery at the launch pad.


Image above: Inside the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's 
Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-120 crew members familiarize 
themselves with Harmony in preparation for their mission to deliver the 
module to the International Space Station. From left are Mission 
Specialist Scott Parazynski, Commander Pam Melroy and Mission Specialist 
Stephanie Wilson. Image credit: NASA/Kim Shifflet
+ View larger image 
<http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/170419main_ceit-harmony-lg.jpg>

*Mission Information*
+ STS-120 Mission Overview 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts120/index.html>
+ Harmony Node 2 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/harmony.html>
+ Space Shuttle Discovery 
<http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/shuttleoperations/orbiters/discovery-info.html>