Laut Nasa web page Astronauts Finish Launch Practice
The STS-120 astronauts capped off three days of exercises and training at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida by boarding space shuttle Discovery for a simulated countdown Wednesday morning. After the rehearsal concluded, the crew members flew back to their home base in Houston to complete their final preparations for the targeted launch of Discovery on Oct. 23.
[highlight]While the astronauts practiced for launch, shuttle program managers started two days of meetings Tuesday in preparation for next week's Flight Readiness Review, which is scheduled for Oct. 16.
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The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) has been working with shuttle engineers to better understand the potential causes of coating loss. At Wednesday's meeting, NESC recommended replacing three of Discovery's 44 panels.
Discovery has flown at least twice with these panels in the current condition, and with no indications of degradation based on thermography. At this point, the Space Shuttle Program has determined that Discovery's astronauts can safely carry out their mission without having to replace the panels. ALSO WEIST JEMAD OB DEN LAUCH KANN WERSCOBEN WERDEN ?CIAO GIOVANNI
