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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the White Room on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, STS-124 Mission Specialist Akihiko Hoshide adjusts his parachute required for launch. Hoshide represents the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Behind him is Mission Specialist Karen Nyberg. They and the other crew members are taking part in a simulated launch countdown, part of the launch dress rehearsal known as the terminal countdown demonstration test. The simulation serves as a practice exercise in which both the launch team and flight crew rehearse launch day time lines and procedures. The test culminates in a simulated ignition and automated shutdown of the orbiter's main engines. On the STS-124 mission, the crew will deliver and install the Japanese Experiment Module – Pressurized Module and Japanese Remote Manipulator System. Discovery's launch is targeted for May 31. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller