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Discovery Prepares for Flight


Mike Leinbach, space shuttle launch director, also was on hand to talk about the preparation milestones for Discovery. He said hardware processing has gone extremely well and between now and July 1, (launch time ) the team has been able to build in about two weeks of contingency time, which is more than ever before. "Things are going really, really well," Leinbach said.





Image above: Space Shuttle Discovery rests on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Image credit: NASA

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shutt ... index.html

I went by the pad the other week, the day after rollout. I would've liked to see the rollout, but other things conspired against me!
I'm planning on taking some good pictures before the thing retires, though.

Dang your so lucky to be that close by. I would love to see it launch in person just in once my life time. I’ll bet the thundering sound accompanied by sight of the Shuttle flaming it’s way up into space would make the trip down there well worth it. I wonder if you’d be able to get close enough to hear the PA chatter at the launch pad , or smell the exhaust fumes after lift off.

Hopefully someday I’ll be able to rent a mobile home for the trip down there and see for myself. I'll be cooking hotdogs on the BBQ grill when the 10 count starts. That’s one of those things you’ll need to do once in your life time

Thanks for the reply.

The PA is only at the press site. However, those channels pass thru buildings all over the place, including NASA TV, so you can hear it anywhere.

Closest I've ever been is (I think) about 4 miles. I was the TV Ops building at CCAFS at the time, and from the maps I've seen that's about 4 miles out. The amazing thing is how fast it goes compared to some of the rockets. I literally saw the shuttle overhead while the sound was still coming from the pad to my left!

I've got a few pics of launches around, not sure where...

Yes, that would be a great journey, and break - travelling down to watch a launch of the Shuttle. Wouldn't mind doing that myself at some point.