KSC-2009-5558

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Battalion Chief George Hoggard, back to camera, instructs the STS-129 crew on the operation of an M113 armored personnel carrier. From left are Commander Charles O. Hobaugh; Mission Specialist Mike Foreman; Pilot Barry E. Wilmore; and Mission Specialists Randy Bresnik, Leland Melvin and Robert L. Satcher Jr. The M113 is kept at the foot of the launch pad in case an emergency egress from the vicinity of the pad is needed. The crew members of space shuttle Atlantis' STS-129 mission are at Kennedy for training related to their launch dress rehearsal, the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. Launch of Atlantis on its STS-129 mission to the International Space Station is targeted for Nov. 16. For information on the STS-129 mission objectives and crew, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts129/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett