STS-124 crew walkout to van

STS124-S-006 (31 May 2008) --- After suiting up, the STS-124 crewmembers pause alongside the Astrovan to wave farewell to onlookers before heading for launch pad 39A for the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on the STS-124 mission. From the right are astronauts Mark Kelly, commander; Ken Ham, pilot; Karen Nyberg, Ron Garan, Mike Fossum, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and Greg Chamitoff, all mission specialists. The STS-124 mission is the 26th in the assembly of the International Space Station. It is the second of three flights launching components to complete JAXA's Kibo laboratory. During the mission, the shuttle crew will install Kibo's large Japanese Pressurized Module and its remote manipulator system. Chamitoff will join Expedition 17 in progress to serve as a flight engineer aboard the station.