SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468

*Hatch Closed and Locked 23 October 2007 * Technicians working at Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida have closed the hatch, or doorway, leading into space shuttle Discovery's crew compartment. The shuttle’s seven astronauts are running through pre-launch tests and checks. Technicians are putting the finishing touches on the white room itself so it can safely fold away from Discovery in the last few minutes before launch.

The countdown is proceeding towards an 11:38 a.m. EDT liftoff.

Image Above: STS-120 commander Pamela Meroy gets strapped into space shuttle Discovery. Image credit: NASA TV TO VIEW IMAGE GO TO:http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

*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/behindscenes/harmony_payload.html

+ Space Shuttle Discovery http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/shuttleoperations/orbiters/discovery-info.html