SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468

Preparations Continue for STS-116 Crew

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html -**

STS-116 crew members are familiarized with flight hardware.

(Image above: Inside the SPACEHAB Payload Processing Facility at Port Canaveral, Fla., STS-116 mission specialists (from left) Joan Higginbotham, Sunita Williams and Nicholas Patrick look over flight hardware during the Crew Equipment Interface Test. Image Credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller)**

The STS-116 crew members visited NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida last week for the crew equipment interface test. The test is a routine part of astronaut training and launch preparations, and allows astronauts to get hands-on with the equipment and flight hardware that will be used during the mission.

During the STS-116 mission, Discovery will deliver the P5 integrated truss structure to the International Space Station, and carry the SPACEHAB module and other key components. Discovery is slated to roll over to the Vehicle Assembly Building on Nov. 1 for mating with the external tank and solid rocket boosters. Launch is scheduled for no earlier than Dec. 7.