KSC-2009-4837

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The STS-128 crew members eagerly exit NASA Kennedy Space Center's Operations and Checkout Building to head to the Astrovan for the 3.4-mile drive to Launch Pad 39A. Clockwise from left are Pilot Kevin Ford, Mission Specialists Jose Fernandez, Nicole Stott, Danny Olivas, Christer Fuglesang and Patrick Forrester, and Commander Rick Sturckow. At the pad, the astronauts will complete their suitup and enter space shuttle Discovery for the 1:36 a.m. EDT liftoff. The 13-day mission will deliver more than 7 tons of supplies, science racks and equipment, as well as additional environmental hardware to sustain six crew members on the International Space Station. The equipment includes a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment and the COLBERT treadmill. The mission is the 128th in the Space Shuttle Program, the 37th flight of Discovery and the 30th station assembly flight. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett