Space shuttle Discovery is set to complete the final leg of its preflight journey May 3, making the 3.4-mile trek from Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39A. Perched atop the mobile launcher platform, the shuttle assembly will roll out to the oceanside launch complex atop the massive crawler-transporter at less than one mile an hour.
The canister carrying the STS-124 payloads arrived at the launch pad April 29. Primary payloads are the tour-bus-sized Japanese Experiment Module-Pressurized Module and the lab's robotic arm system. The components will be installed in the orbiter's payload bay after the shuttle arrives at the pad.
The STS-124 crew members, commanded by astronaut Mark Kelly, are set to arrive at Kennedy on May 6 for the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. The three-day event concludes May 9 with a full dress rehearsal of the launch countdown.
Launch remains targeted for May 31.
