KSC-2011-1539

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- This image was taken from the Shuttle Landing Facility's air traffic control tower at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and provides a birds-eye view of STS-133 Pilot Eric Boe performing touch-and-go landings aboard one of two Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA). STAs are Gulfstream II business jets that are modified to mimic the shuttle's handling during the final phase of landing. Practice landings are 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/Ben Smegelsky