Crew boarding the shuttle

Discovery's crew arrived at the launch pad and prepared to take their places in the shuttle about 8:15 a.m.

The closeout crew helped the Cmdr. Pam Melroy complete putting on her launch and re-entry suit. She then pulled herself into her seat.

"It can be like getting into your car if someone stood it on its bumper," said astronaut Pat Forrester, who was commenting on NASA TV.

Other launch milestones:

9:33 a.m. - hatch closes
10:44 a.m. - MMT conducts final "go/no go" poll
11:38 a.m. - launch
11:46 a.m. - main engine cutoff/orbit



IF YOU'RE GOING TO THE LAUNCH

Sign up to get countdown updates sent to your cell phone.

Where to go for the best launch view.

You can also look over our STS-120 launch day extras page.