NASA is expected to select Nov. 1 as its firm launch date for shuttle Discovery's grand finale during an agency-level flight readiness review today at Kennedy Space Center.
Discovery and its six astronauts would blast off from launch pad 39A at 4:40 p.m. next Monday -- the middle of a 10-minute window to put the shuttle and its crew on course for a two-day trip to the outpost.
NASA engineers and managers at the review said Discovery's payload -- a cylindrical module that will reside permanently at the station -- will go a long way to solving storage issues. Built by the Italian Space Agency, the Leonardo module has been upgraded for a long-duration stay at the outpost. It was designed to fly up and back to the station in the shuttle's cargo bay and has made several trips has to the complex.
The 11-day flight will include two spacewalks. Mission commander Steven Lindsey and his crew will enter quarantine today at Johnson Space Center. They will fly to KSC on Thursday and launch countdown will begin Friday. The crew also includes pilot Eric Boe and mission specialists Michael Barratt, Al Drew, Tim Kopra and Nicole Stott.
The review comes on the heels of the successful replacement over the weekend of suspect seals in the shuttle's Orbital Maneuvering System -- twin engines used for large course corrections in orbit and for the retrograde burn that begins atmospheric reentry at the end of missions.
A news conference will follow the review. Participants will include NASA space flight chief Bill Gerstenmaier, shuttle launch integration manager Mike Moses and Mike Leinbach, NASA's shuttle launch director.
ABOUT THE IMAGES: Click to enlarge still images from live video feeds at the Launch Complex 39 area. Discovery is being readied for launch at pad 39A.
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