Shuttle skipper Pam Melroy is gearing up to guide Discovery through a nose-over-tail backflip as the spaceship flies 600 feet directly below the International Space Station.
The nine-minute maneuver will enable U.S. astronaut Clay Anderson and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko to use high-resolution cameras -- an 800 mm and a 400 mm, respectively -- to photograph the thousands of heat-shield tiles on the underside of the shuttle orbiter.
The Rotational Pitch Maneuver and the photo op are post-Columbia standards aimed at detecting any damage on the belly of the orbiter.
The maneuver should begin at 7:32 a.m. EDT and will be a visual spectacular. You can watch live by clicking on the link below the image above to launch our NASA TV viewer.
IMAGE NOTE: Click to enlarge and save the NASA TV screen grab of Discovery as seen from the International Space Station during the shuttle's approach to the outpost.
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