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