SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468
Three Days to Go
The STS-116 crew arrived Sunday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to begin final preparations for launch on the STS-116 mission, a construction flight to the International Space Station.
At Launch Pad 39B, Space Shuttle Discovery is safely enveloped by the pad's rotating service structure, which protects the shuttle assembly from the elements while providing access for technicians. The structure will be rolled back to the "park" position early Thursday morning, revealing the shuttle poised for launch.
The countdown is set to begin tonight at 11 p.m., with the clock starting at the T-43 hour mark. There are 27 hours, 36 minutes of hold time built into the countdown, leading to a preferred liftoff time at 9:35 p.m. EST. + Countdown 101
Primary payloads on the 12-day mission are the P5 integrated truss segment, SPACEHAB single logistics module and an integrated cargo carrier. This will be the 20th flight to the station.
STS-116 Resources + STS-116 TV Schedule + Certificate of Flight Readiness + News and Media Resources