KSC-2010-2889

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-132 Pilot Tony Antonelli gets settled in the cockpit of a Shuttle Training Aircraft to practice touch-and-go landings. The Shuttle Training Aircraft is a Gulfstream II jet, modified to handle like the space shuttle. The STS-132 crew arrived at Kennedy at 6:11 p.m. EDT for their Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, or TCDT, a dress rehearsal for launch. TCDT provides each shuttle crew and launch team the opportunity to participate in various simulated countdown activities, including equipment familiarization and emergency training. On the STS-132 mission, the six-member crew will deliver an Integrated Cargo Carrier, or ICC, and the Russian-built Mini-Research Module-1, or MRM-1, to the International Space Station aboard space shuttle Atlantis. The ICC is an unpressurized flat bed pallet and keel yoke assembly used to support the transfer of exterior cargo from the shuttle to the space station. The MRM-1, known as Rassvet, is the second in a series of new pressurized components for Russia and will be permanently attached to the Earth-facing port of the Zarya control module. Rassvet, which translates to 'dawn,' will be used for cargo storage and will provide an additional docking port to the station. STS-132 is the 34th mission to the station and the 132nd shuttle mission overall. Atlantis is targeted to launch on May 14 at 2:19 p.m. For information on the STS-132 mission, visit http:__www.nasa.gov_mission_pages_shuttle_shuttlemissions_sts132_index.html. Photo credit: NASA_Troy Cryder