"There is Excitement in the Air"

Countdown activities continue to pick up as space shuttle Discovery is a day away from its final launch. Technicians are inspecting the external tank liquid oxygen feedline today. The onboard and ground communications systems will be activated this afternoon and preparations are being made to move the rotating service structure away from the shuttle this evening.

"There is excitement in the air," said NASA Test Director Steve Payne. "People are putting their game faces on."

This mission is the last spaceflight for Discovery, NASA's oldest active shuttle. Its history includes deployment of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and two successful Return to Flight missions, STS-26 and STS-114.

"When she goes, she's going to take a little bit of everyone of us and we're ready," Payne said.

The weather forecast is holding steady with a 70 percent chance of acceptable conditions at launch time Wednesday. Liftoff is scheduled for 3:52 p.m. EDT.