Live at KSC: Astros Suiting Up for Flight

Atlantis astronauts are getting dressed for flight in their signature orange partial-pressure launch-and-entry suits.

The seven-member crew appears relaxed inside Kennedy Space Center's Operations and Checkout Building. The picture at left shows 47-year-old mission specialist Mike Massimino, who is preparing for his second shuttle flight, and the second to the Hubble Space Telescope.

"I'm going to put my spacesuit on, next stop: Earth Orbit!!" Massimino wrote on Twitter. You can follow his tweets, which he said he'll try to continue on orbit if time permits, here.

At 10 a.m., our live broadcast opens with an interview with a senior engineer from ATK who is an expert about the tools to be used on this mission.

The crew is sceduled to depart that building and board NASA's silver Astrovan for a ride to launch pad 39A at 10:16 a.m.

They'll arrive at the launch tower's "white room," and access arm that connects to the crew hatch on Atlantis, and begin strapping into their seats about a half-hour later.

NASA's Final Inspection Team has reported no problems uncovered during their roughly two-hour check of the shuttle and pad 39A.