KSC-2011-1270

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA astronaut Terry Virts signs autographs outside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida while space shuttle Discovery rolls out to Launch Pad 39A. It will take the shuttle, attached to its external fuel tank, twin solid rocket boosters and mobile launcher platform, about seven hours to complete the move atop a crawler-transporter. This is the second time Discovery has rolled out to the pad for the STS-133 mission, and comes after a thorough check and modifications to the shuttle's external tank. Virts was pilot on the STS-130 mission that took the seven-windowed cupola to the International Space Station in 2010. Targeted to liftoff Feb. 24, Discovery will take the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) packed with supplies and critical spare parts, as well as Robonaut 2 (R2) to the International Space Station. For more information on STS-133, visit www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts133/. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett