Discovery Astronauts Arrive Today for TCDT

Technicians at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida are preparing today for the STS-133 Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. The TCDT, as it is known, is a standard countdown dress rehearsal that gives the astronauts and control teams a chance to run through all their launch day procedures. The six astronauts who will fly the STS-133 mission to the International Space Station are to arrive at Kennedy at about 5 p.m. today and will go through training sessions during the week.

At the launch pad, where space shuttle Discovery is going through its own TCDT and launch preparations, the Permanent Multipurpose Module and Express Logistics Carrier-4 were installed in the shuttle's payload bay yesterday. The PMM has been packed with supplies, experiments and equipment. Robonaut 2 is also making the trip to the station inside the cargo module.

This article was sponsored by Police Books.