KSC-2011-1524

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- STS-133 Pilot Eric Boe prepares to perform touch-and-go landings aboard a Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) on the Shuttle Landing Facility runway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. An STA is a Gulfstream II business jet that is modified to mimic the shuttle's handling during the final phase of landing. Boe and STS-133 Commander Steve Lindsey will practice landings as part of standard training before space shuttle Discovery's launch to the International Space Station. Scheduled to lift off Feb. 24 at 4:50 p.m. EST, Discovery and its six-member crew will deliver the Permanent Multipurpose Module, packed with supplies and critical spare parts, as well as Robonaut 2, the dexterous humanoid astronaut helper, to the orbiting outpost. For more information on the STS-133 mission, visit www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts133/. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett