KSC-05pd-1724

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Return to Flight STS-114 crew heads for the bus that will transport them to Launch Pad 39B. From left, in front, are Mission Specialists Andrew Thomas, Charles Camarda and Wendy Lawrence, with Pilot James Kelly leading. In back are Mission Specialists Stephen Robinson and Soichi Noguchi, led by Mission Commander Eileen Collins. Noguchi represents the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. On its second attempt for launch, Discovery is scheduled to lift off at 10:39 a.m. EDT today from Launch Pad 39B. It is the 114th Space Shuttle flight and the 31st for Discovery. The 12-day mission is expected to end with touchdown at the Shuttle Landing Facility on Aug. 7. On this mission to the International Space Station the crew will perform inspections on-orbit for the first time of all of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon (RCC) panels on the leading edge of the wings and the Thermal Protection System tiles using the new Canadian-built Orbiter Boom Sensor System and the data from 176 impact and temperature sensors. Mission Specialists will also practice repair techniques on RCC and tile samples during a spacewalk in the payload bay. During two additional spacewalks, the crew will install 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.