KSC-2009-6326

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United Space Alliance suit technicians ensure the proper fit of the launch-and-entry suits of the STS-129 crew members. Mission Specialists Leland Melvin and Robert L. Satcher Jr., at right, prepare to enter space shuttle Atlantis from the White Room. Liftoff is set for 2:28 p.m. EST Nov. 16. On STS-129, the crew will deliver two Express Logistics Carriers to the International Space Station, the largest of the shuttle's cargo carriers, containing 15 spare pieces of equipment including two gyroscopes, two nitrogen tank assemblies, two pump modules, an ammonia tank assembly and a spare latching end effector for the station's robotic arm. Atlantis will return to Earth a station crew member, Nicole Stott, who has spent more than two months aboard the orbiting laboratory. STS-129 is slated to be the final space shuttle Expedition crew rotation flight. For information on the STS-129 mission and crew, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts129/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Sandra Joseph and Kevin O'Connell