SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C#31468

*Astronauts Finish Launch Practice*

The STS-120 astronauts capped off three days of exercises and training at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida by boarding space shuttle Discovery for a simulated countdown Wednesday morning. After the rehearsal concluded, the crew members flew back to their home base in Houston to complete their final preparations for the targeted launch of Discovery on Oct. 23.

Image Above: The STS-120 crew poses just outside Discovery's hatch. The astronauts are, left to right, Mission Specialists Scott Parazynski , Stephanie Wilson, Commander Pam Melroy, Pilot George Zamka, Mission Specialists Paolo Nespoli, Doug Wheelock (front) and Dan Tani. Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett + View larger image http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/170419main__DSC0012.JPG

While the astronauts practiced for launch, shuttle program managers started two days of meetings Tuesday in preparation for next week's Flight Readiness Review, which is scheduled for Oct. 16.

One of the topics discussed before the conclusion of the program review Wednesday involved the reinforced carbon carbon, or RCC, on Discovery’s wing leading edge panels. In the past, there have been post-flight indications that the edges of a couple of panels have lost small amounts of their upper-level coating. Thermography, or thermal imagery, has been used to inspect the panels in order to identify any internal defects that could lead to coating loss.

The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) has been working with shuttle engineers to better understand the potential causes of coating loss. At Wednesday's meeting, NESC recommended replacing three of Discovery's 44 panels.

Discovery has flown at least twice with these panels in the current condition, and with no indications of degradation based on thermography. At this point, the Space Shuttle Program has determined that Discovery's astronauts can safely carry out their mission without having to replace the panels.

*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