Tank Foam Removed as Modifications Continue

Science technicians removed the foam on space shuttle Discovery's external tank so modifications can be made to add support to 95 support beams called stringers on the tank's intertank region. The modification work is under way on Discovery as it stands in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Shuttle program managers will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. EST this afternoon to update the progress of the repairs and modifications. The press conference will air on NASA TV and on the NASA Web site.

The astronauts who will fly Discovery on the STS-133 mission will practice contingency abort scenarios in the motion-base simulator at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, the training base for shuttle crews and home of the Mission Control Center.