KSC-05pd-1723

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Return to Flight STS-114 crew exits the Operations and Checkout Building, heading for the bus that will transport them to Launch Pad 39B. On the left, front to back, are Pilot James Kelly and Mission Specialists Wendy Lawrence, Charles Camarda and Andrew Thomas. On the right, front to back, are Mission Commander Eileen Collins and Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi and Stephen Robinson. Noguchi represents the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. On its second attempt for launch, Discovery is scheduled to lift off at 10:39 a.m. EDT today from Launch Pad 39B. It is the 114th Space Shuttle flight and the 31st for Discovery. The 12-day mission is expected to end with touchdown at the Shuttle Landing Facility on Aug. 7. On this mission to the International Space Station the crew will perform inspections on-orbit for the first time of all of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon (RCC) panels on the leading edge of the wings and the Thermal Protection System tiles using the new Canadian-built Orbiter Boom Sensor System and the data from 176 impact and temperature sensors. Mission Specialists will also practice repair techniques on RCC and tile samples during a spacewalk in the payload bay. During two additional spacewalks, the crew will install the External Stowage Platform-2, equipped with spare part assemblies, and a replacement Control Moment Gyroscope contained in the Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure.