Crew at KSC: "Ready to Get Going"

Space shuttle Discovery's crew today flew into Kennedy Space Center in preparation for Wednesday's launch to the International Space Station on a two-week construction mission.

The seven astronauts arrived from Houston by 3 p.m., touching down on the shuttle's three-mile landing strip after steering five T-38 training jets up the coast for a view of Discovery resting on Launch Pad 39A.

In brief remarks, mission commander Lee Archambault thanked NASA workers around the country who spent more than a month studying a problem with valves in the shuttle's main propulsion system.

Shuttle managers concluded by last week that Discovery was safe to fly. The problem delayed the STS-119 mission from its original Feb. 12 launch date to a planned 9:20 p.m. liftoff on Wednesday.

"We've very happy it's been resolved successfully," Archambault said. "We're ready to get going."

Archambault was flanked by pilot Tony Antonelli and mission specialists Joe Acaba, Ricky Arnold, John Phillips, Steve Swanson and Koichi Wakata, all wearing blue flight suits.

Around 6 p.m., Archambault and Antonelli were scheduled to practice landings in a modified Gulfstram jet that mimics an orbiter's handling on descent.

The rest of the crew will participate in briefings at their quarters at KSC's Operations and Checkout Building.

About a dozen representatives from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Japanese media organizations were on hand for Wakata's arrival. At left, JAXA's Yushiya Fukuda made the event's best fashion statement, with an orange T-shirt and light blue jacket that featured images of a smiling Wakata.

Wakata is set to become the first Japanese astronaut to conduct a long-duration spaceflight when he replaces NASA astronaut Sandy Magnus as a space station flight engineer.

"I'm excited to stay on board the station for a little while," Wakata said today, who is scheduled to return to Earth with the STS-127 shuttle crew expected to fly in mid-June.

Discovery's three-day countdown to launch is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

After reaching the space station about two days into the flight, the crew plans to install the last segment of the space station's football field-length central truss.

The truss, called S6, will be installed on the station's starboard side. It holds the last pair of massive power-generating solar wings, which are needed to boost the station's capacity to support science experiments and larger crews.

IMAGE NOTE: Click to enlarge the pictures of the STS-119 crew arriving today at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. Top, from left to right, the crew includes mission specialists Koichi Wakata, John Phillips, Ricky Arnold, Steve Swanson and Joe Acaba, pilot Tony Antonilli and mission commander Lee Archambault. Second, a T-38 carrying two astronauts taxis from the runway to a parked position at the landing facility. Third, after a break inside, the astronauts walked outside to make brief remarks to assembled media and support staff. Photo credits: Craig Rubadoux, Florida Today. Fourth: a JAXA representative wears a jacket featuring STS-119 mission specialist Koichi Wakata. Credit: James Dean's cell phone.