[sarex] Discovery Joins Tank and Boosters

[Arthur Rowe]

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468
24 SEPTEMBER 2007

*Discovery Joins Tank and Boosters*

Discovery is lifted vertically. Image above: Inside the cavernous 
Vehicle Assembly Building, space shuttle Discovery is lifted by a sling 
into a vertical position before being hoisted to the mobile launch 
platform along side the external tank and solid rocket boosters. Image 
credit: NASA
+ View larger image 
<http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/170419main_verticle-lg.JPG>

On Sunday, technicians moved space shuttle Discovery from its processing 
hangar to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center 
in Florida. Once inside, the orbiter was rotated into a vertical 
position and hoisted so that technicians could begin attaching Discovery 
to the external fuel tank and two solid rocket boosters atop the mobile 
launch platform.

Discovery is currently scheduled to roll out to Launch Pad 39A on Sept. 
30 in preparation for its launch on mission STS-120, targeted for Oct. 
23. In advance of the shuttle's arrival, technicians will transfer to 
the launch pad the payload canister containing the International Space 
Station's Harmony module.

*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>