Discovery Settles Onto Its Pad

Space shuttle Discovery has arrived at its launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in preparation for its launch of the STS-124 mission. A dress rehearsal of the launch, known as the terminal countdown demonstration test, will occur at Kennedy from May 6th to 9th. Aboard the giant crawler-transport, Discovery started its journey to the pad last Friday, traveling at less than 1 m.p.h. May 31st is the target date for the actual launch, which will see a 13-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The shuttle’s seven crew members will deliver the Kibo laboratory’s large Japanese Pressurized Module, or JPM, and its remote manipulator system to the ISS. Three spacewalks will be conducted during the flight. STS-124 is the 123rd shuttle flight, the 35th flight for Discovery and the 26th flight to the station—Cape Canaveral, Florida