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LAUNCH COVERAGE Space Shuttle Mission STS-116

Orbiter: Discovery Mission: Space Station Assembly Building 12A.1 Payload: P5 Integrated Truss Segment Launch Date: Dec. 7, 2006 Launch Time: 9:35 p.m. EST Launch Pad: 39B Landing Date: Dec. 19, 2006 Landing Time: 4:35 p.m. EST Mission Duration: 12 days

Two Days Until Launch, Preparations Continue

The STS-116 crew members pose for a photo at the Shuttle Landing Facility. Image above: The seven STS-116 crew members pose for a photo after arriving at Kennedy Space Center. From left are Mission Specialist Joan Higginbotham; Pilot Bill Oefelein; Mission Specialists Robert Curbeam, Christer Fuglesang and Nicholas Patrick; ISS Expedition 14 Flight Engineer Sunita Williams; and Commander Mark Polansky. Credit: NASA/KSC

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SITE:http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/index.html)

Monday at 11 p.m. EST, NASA's countdown clock blinked to life at the T-43 hour mark and began ticking down toward the liftoff of Space Shuttle Discovery on a complex and challenging mission to the International Space Station.

Led by Commander Mark Polansky, the seven crew members arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday afternoon. Polansky and Pilot Bill Oefelein spent part of Monday evening flying the Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) and checking the fit of their orange launch and entry suits. They'll complete another STA flight tonight while Mission Specialists Robert Curbeam, Joan Higginbotham, Nicholas Patrick, Christer Fuglesang and Sunita Williams try on their suits.

Liftoff is targeted for 9:35 p.m. Thursday -- the midpoint of a 10-minute launch window.

The Launch Team Learn more about the NASA team that's responsible for the events that lead up to the liftoff of mission STS-116.

• Meet the Launch Team