WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

In the dark before dawn, the payloads that will launch aboard Space Shuttle Discovery's Return to Flight mission STS-114 roll past the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center. Enclosed in a payload canister, the payloads are heading for Launch Pad 39B. The canister will be lifted up alongside the Rotating Service Structure to the Payload Changeout Room where the STS-114 payloads will be removed. Discoverys payloads include the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello, the Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier (LMC), and the External Stowage Platform-2 (ESP-2). Raffaello will deliver supplies to the International Space Station including food, clothing and research equipment. The LMC will carry a replacement Control Moment Gyroscope and a tile repair sample box. The ESP-2 is outfitted with replacement parts. Discoverys launch window extends from July 13 through July 31.