WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

Cameras at the edge of a pond have a pristine view to Launch Pad 39B at NASA Kennedy Space Center where the Space Shuttle Discovery waits for launch. On the right of the Shuttle is the 290-foot-tall water tower that holds 300,000 gallons of water, part of the sound suppression system during a launch. Discovery is scheduled to lift off on the historic Return to Flight mission STS-114 at 10:39 a.m. EDT July 26 with a crew of seven. On the mission to the International Space Station the crew will perform inspections on orbit for the first time of all of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon (RCC) panels on the leading edge of the wings and the Thermal Protection System tiles using the new Canadian-built Orbiter Boom Sensor System and the data from 176 impact and temperature sensors. Mission Specialists will also practice repair techniques on RCC and tile samples during a spacewalk in the payload bay. During two additional spacewalks, the crew will install the External Stowage Platform-2, equipped with spare part assemblies, and a replacement Control Moment Gyroscope contained in the Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure.