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| Image above: The STS-116 astronauts leave the crew
quarters to head out to the launch pad. Image Credit: NASA |
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Space shuttle astronauts depart for the launch pad
Spurred on by the cheers and applause of Kennedy Space
Center employees, the STS-116 astronauts boarded the Astrovan bus for
the trip out to Launch Pad 39B.
The drive to reach Discovery takes about 25 minutes, and includes stops
to send support personnel to the Shuttle Landing Facility and Launch Control
Center.
Once reaching the launch pad, the astronauts will enter an elevator to
take them up to the orbiter access arm that provides entry into Discovery's
crew cabin. There, the crew will begin the process of one-by-one boarding
Discovery and configuring the ship's systems for liftoff.
No technical issues with the launch pad or space shuttle are being worked
on at this point as the countdown continues to a liftoff at 8:47 p.m.
EST.
A cold front continues to dominate weather across Kennedy Space Center,
producing partly sunny skies along with variable and gusty winds. The
current chance for liftoff has recently been upgraded to 40 percent and
continues to trend favorably offering further potential for improvement.
The STS-116 mission is the 33rd for Discovery and the 117th space shuttle
flight. During the 12-day mission, the crew will continue construction
on the International Space Station, rewiring the orbiting laboratory and
adding a segment to its integrated truss structure
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