KSC-2009-4256

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Discovery is lowered toward the external fuel tank in High Bay 1 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Discovery will be attached to the external and solid rocket boosters already stacked on the mobile launcher platform. Visible on Discovery's underside are the umbilical areas, the external fuel tank attach points. Discovery is scheduled to roll out to Launch Pad 39A the first week of August to prepare for the STS-128 mission to the International Space Station. The shuttle will carry the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module containing life support racks and science racks and the Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier in its payload bay. Launch of Discovery is targeted for late August. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky