KSC-2009-6057

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the members of the STS-129 crew exit the Operations and Checkout Building in their launch-and-entry suits to catch a ride in the Astrovan to Launch Pad 39A. The six astronauts for space shuttle Atlantis’ STS-129 mission are participating in their launch dress rehearsal, the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. From left are Mission Specialists Leland Melvin and Mike Foreman; Commander Charles O. Hobaugh; Mission Specialist Randy Bresnik; Pilot Barry E. Wilmore; and Mission Specialist Robert L. Satcher Jr. Additional training associated with the test was done last month, but the simulated countdown was postponed because of a scheduling conflict with the launch of NASA’s Ares I-X test rocket. Launch of Atlantis on its STS-129 mission to the International Space Station is set for Nov. 16. On STS-129, the crew will deliver to the station two spare gyroscopes, two nitrogen tank assemblies, two pump modules, an ammonia tank assembly and a spare latching end effector for the station's robotic arm. For information on the STS-129 crew and mission objectives, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts129/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett