KSC-05pd-1504

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Following rollback of the Rotating Service Structure, the orbiter access arm is able to be extended to Space Shuttle Discovery. The arm provides access into Discovery through the White Room, where the astronauts are checked by the closeout crew. Behind Discovery is the orange External Tank, flanked by the twin white Solid Rocket Boosters. Discovery is scheduled to launch on the historic Return to Flight mission STS-114 at 3:51 p.m. July 13 with a crew of seven. The payload includes the External Stowage Platform-2, equipped with spare part assemblies, and a replacement Control Moment Gyroscope contained in the Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure. The astronauts will make three spacewalks, including one to practice repair techniques for the Shuttle’s heat shield and one to install the new gyroscope. This is the 114th Space Shuttle flight and the 31st for Discovery. The 12-day mission is expected to end with touchdown at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility at 11:06 a.m. July 25.