KSC-05pd-1745

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - KSC Deputy Director Woodrow Whitlow Jr. (left) escorts distinguished guests to the VIP viewing site at NASA Kennedy Space Center. First Lady Laura Bush is in front (right) with Noelle Bush, the daughter of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Columba Bush behind her. They are attending the historic launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on Return to Flight mission STS-114, scheduled to lift off at 10:39 a.m. EDT from Launch Pad 39B with a crew of seven. Mrs. Bush is only the third First Lady to witness a Space Shuttle launch at KSC. 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. The 12-day mission is expected to end with touchdown at the Shuttle Landing Facility on Aug. 7.