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We've all had to pack our suitcases for a trip and know how important it is to

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include everything we'll need when we get to our destination.

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Imagine what it's like to pack the space shuttle with all the equipment and personal items essential to the astronauts.

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Troy Mann, lead technician for United Space Alliance's Flight Crew Systems,

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and his team have the daunting task of making sure the space shuttle crew members have everything they need by launch day.

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Unlike a trip on Earth, there's no convenience store in space to pick up a few missing items.

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"The range of items could be as simple as a toothbrush, or as complicated as the spacewalk suits."

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Troy oversees the loading of food, clothing, mid-deck seats, flight tools,

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cameras, parachutes, safety equipment and even the astronaut's spacesuits -- known as "extra vehicular mobility units."

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The equipment is transported to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida by truck from the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

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After arrival, the hardware and supplies are checked for damage, weighed,

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tagged and put into shipping containers until they have to be stowed for flight.

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"I think the most challenging part of the job is we have so much equipment going into the crew compartment

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that making sure that we have all the proper equipment in its proper place, it's quite challenging."

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Every item has a specific locker or space, and Troy's team follows a

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precise map for stowing the supplies in the crew compartment on the shuttle.

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More than 6,500 pounds of equipment is loaded on the shuttle for every mission.

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That's equal to two tractor-trailer trucks, and fills more than 40 lockers and spaces with bags and containers.

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"I think the coolest part of my job is after launch when I get to watch the crew on-orbit operations and

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you get to see the equipment that you've stowed and you get to see them

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using the equipment, the spacewalk suits, and I think  that's probably the neatest thing."

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Each spacesuit weighs about 300 pounds and is received in four pieces.

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It takes three technicians using a ground handling device and pulley

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system with a safety harness to maneuver the suits into the shuttle.

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With the Vision of Space Exploration going full steam ahead, Troy is looking to support

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stowage needs for the new crew exploration vehicle on future missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

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