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Next on the NASA Space Shuttle Status Report: A mission to build on!

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With the successful completion of a trip to the International Space Station, NASA is ready once again to fly into space.

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"Return to construction" of the International Space Station is under way,

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and the NASA Space Shuttle Status Report starts right now!

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Music.

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Space Shuttle Atlantis glided to a smooth predawn landing on September 21st and is now back at Kennedy Space Center.

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Drag chute deploy. Nose gear touchdown.

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I'm Danny Zeno, NASA test director, and this is the Space Shuttle Status Report.

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We'll have more on space shuttle Atlantis in a moment, but first:

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NASA once again calls on Space Shuttle Discovery to fly to the International Space Station.

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It's been just a few months since Discovery launched into space.

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Is the vehicle ready to fly again, and when will the countdown take place? Let's take a closer look.

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The STS-116 astronauts and the processing crews at Kennedy Space Center

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are hard at work preparing for a December launch date.

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Discovery's external fuel tank is now attached to its twin, white solid rocket boosters.

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Soon, the "flight stack" will be complete when Discovery leaves the Orbiter

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Processing Facility and joins together with the tank and boosters inside NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building.

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Discovery rolls to the pad in November.

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Right now, the STS-116 crew is preparing too! The astronauts spent time this

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week at Kennedy Space Center for some important hands-on training. Led by Commander Mark Polansky,

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the crew examined the orbiter and even inspected the SPACEHAB module that will fly in Discovery's payload bay.

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Flying alongside Commander Polanksy will be Pilot Bill Oefelein, Mission Specialists Robert Curbeam,

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Joan Higginbotham, Nicholas Patrick, Christer Fuglesang, and Flight Engineer Sunita Williams.

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The crew members will be back a few more times before they arrive in early December for the launch countdown.

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Speaking of launch, STS-116 is Discovery's 20th trip to the Space Station and marks the return to night launches.

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The STS-116 launch date is targeted for December 7, a week earlier than originally planned.

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This change allows for workers at both Kennedy Space Center and Johnson

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Space Center to enjoy additional time with their families during the December holidays.

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The official launch date will be set at the Flight Readiness Review in late November.

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Mission STS-116 continues the "return to construction" series of missions for NASA.

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Space Shuttle Atlantis and its STS-115 crew completed the first of these missions in September.

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Atlantis is now back inside the Orbiter Processing Facility.

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Post-flight thermal protection system inspections are nearly complete.

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This careful, post-flight examination of the orbiter's protective coating is

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one of the first things workers will do to prepare Atlantis for its spring flight on mission STS-117.

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That's all the time we have for this week's Space Shuttle Status Report.

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Our next report will take a closer look at the payload that will be delivered to the Station.

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For the NASA Space Shuttle Status Report, I'm Danny Zeno.  Thanks for watching!

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