KSC-05-S-00079

Now on the NASA Space Shuttle Status Report: The world watches as NASA's Space Shuttle Discovery rolls out to the launch pad for Return to Flight_ And, Discovery gets an 'eye' to keep watch on the External Tank. Plus, not to be outshined: orbiter Atlantis is charging ahead, accomplishing many milestones_ I'm Don Hammel, NASA test director and this is the NASA Space Shuttle Status Report. Our big story this week: NASA’s Space Shuttle Discovery is now on the launch pad, in preparation for liftoff of STS-114, NASA’s Return to Flight mission to the International Space Station. At precisely 2:04 p.m. EDT on April 6, 2005, history was made when Discovery began the rollout to Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Kennedy employees celebrated and cheered as Discovery made its way through the crawlerway, and world-wide press coverage documented the milestone. Discovery made it's 4.2 mile journey atop the massive 5-½ million pound crawler that slowly inched its way to the pad at a speed of nearly one mile an hour. After a brief delay, Discovery arrived at the pad at 12:30 a.m. EDT. A week before rollout, Discovery was mated to its Solid Rocket Boosters and External Tank inside the Vehicle Assembly Building. The orbiter was also equipped with a digital camera that will photograph the External Tank during launch. This was also a historic week for orbiter Atlantis. Atlantis' Boom installation is in work at Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1. The 50-foot-long Orbiter Boom Sensor System, or OBSS, will attach to the Shuttle robotic arm, and is one of the new safety measures for Return to Flight. It equips the orbiter with cameras and laser systems to inspect the Shuttle's Thermal Protection System in space. In other recent milestones, installation of all three of Atlantis' Space Shuttle Main Engines is now complete, and Solid Rocket Booster stacking began March 31. Space Shuttle Atlantis has a launch window that begins July 12 and ends July 31st. That's all the time we have for this week's Space Shuttle Status Report. Be sure to mark your calendars for May 15 to June 3rd 2005, NASA's official window for Space Shuttle Discovery's Return to Flight mission, designated STS-114 to the International Space Station_ Until next time, logon to nasa.gov for the latest in Return to Flight and NASA mission news. I'm Don Hammel for the NASA Space Shuttle Status Report.