[sarex] Discovery Moves Toward October Liftoff

[Arthur Rowe]

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468

*Discovery Moves Toward October Liftoff*

Next week, the launch of space shuttle Discovery on mission STS-120 
moves one step closer as technicians are scheduled to roll the shuttle 
the short distance from the Orbiter Processing Facility to the giant 
Vehicle Assembly Building. Once inside, Discovery will be lifted and 
then joined to the waiting boosters and tank on the mobile launch 
platform. The main payload for the mission, the Italian-built U.S. 
Harmony module for the International Space Station, will be loaded 
inside Discovery at the launch pad.

Work on Discovery in progress.
Image above: In the Orbiter Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space 
Center, workers secure the tool storage assembly unit into Discovery's 
payload bay. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller
+ View larger image 
<http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/170419main_opf-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>