ALLARD BEUTEL: This is Shuttle Launch Control at T-minus 3 hours and holding.
We are just five hours shy of the launch of space shuttle Discovery on its STS-124 mission
to the International Space Station. Launch controllers are not working any problems right
now that would prevent us lifting off at 5:02 p.m. Eastern.
Thank you for joining us on this very sunny Saturday here at NASA's Kennedy Space
Center along Florida's central east coast. I'm NASA Launch Commentator Allard Beutel,
and you're watching live video right now of shuttle Discovery on its seaside launch pad,
39A. During the next five hours, we'll take a look at the STS-124 mission, its seven-person
crew and cargo, as well as follow along as launch controllers get ready to send Discovery
into orbit.
NASA started this week with a successful landing and start to a three-month mission for
the Mars Phoenix Lander. And now we're looking to bookend that successful week with a
successful launch and start to a two-week mission to the International Space Station, where
Discovery's seven astronauts will add the newest and largest laboratory to the orbiting
outpost, and it's called the Japanese Pressurized Module. This week really exemplifies
NASA's one-two punch strategy for space exploration: a combination of robotic and remote
scientific study and analysis and then direct human forays into space.
And before we recap this morning's launch preparations, there's one more thing I'd like to
point out: If you're saying to yourself that space shuttle Discovery looks a little better than
you remember it, you're probably not that far off. For the very first time, NASA Television
is broadcasting the launch of a space shuttle in High Definition Television. So the space age
and digital age do meet here for NASA on the STS-124 mission.