CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – STS-128 Pilot Kevin Ford gets ready to push the lever for the slidewire basket on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. He and other crew members are being instructed in emergency exit procedures from the pad. The crew is at Kennedy for a launch dress rehearsal called the terminal countdown demonstration test, or TCDT, which includes emergency exit training and equipment familiarization, as well as a simulated launch countdown. Discovery will deliver 33,000 pounds of equipment to the station, including science and storage racks, a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment and the COLBERT treadmill. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Location Kennedy Space Center, FL
Date August 6, 2009