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Music.

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The astronauts for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-122 mission flew in to NASA's Kennedy Space Center on

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Nov. 18, 2007, to participate in a launch dress rehearsal and other prelaunch activities.

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Known as the terminal countdown demonstration test or TCDT, the Atlantis crew members had the

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chance to familiarize themselves with the equipment and payload they'll be working

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with in space on this on this 24th shuttle mission to the International Space Station.

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Veteran astronaut Steve Frick will command the flight, assisted by Pilot Alan Poindexter,

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Mission Specialists Rex Walheim, Stanley Love, Leland Melvin and

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European Space Agency astronauts Hans Schlegel and Leopold Eyharts.

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After arrival at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility late in the evening,

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the astronauts were welcomed by media and NASA officials.

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During the first round of exercises, the crew members took turns driving the

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M113 armored personnel carriers stationed near the launch pad.

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The M113 will be available to transport the crew to safety in the

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unlikely event of an emergency on the pad before launch.

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At the Operations and Checkout Building, the astronauts attended briefings on security and range

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safety and then climbed into their pressurized orange flight suits, helmets and gloves for a fit check.

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Frick and Poindexter practiced landing procedures with a modified Gulfstream jet

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designed to simulate the shuttle gliding unpowered onto the runway.

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At Launch Pad 39A, the crew inspected Atlantis' main cargo, the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory.

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The 23-foot long lab is tucked inside Atlantis' payload bay for its trip to the station.

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The astronauts also practiced exiting the launch pad in the slidewire baskets

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that could quickly take them away from the pad if necessary.

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Training concluded with a full dress rehearsal of a simulated launch countdown.

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The STS-122 crew left Kennedy November 20 and headed back to

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NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston for final launch preparations.

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The terminal countdown demonstration test was a major milestone in the preparations

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for Atlantis' launch to the International Space Station on the STS-122 mission.

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