STS-116 Crew Completes Dress Rehearsal

The STS-116 crew wrapped up four days of prelaunch training Thursday following a launch dress rehearsal and simulated countdown with the look and feel of a real launch day. After spending most of the week at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the crew members departed in T-38 jets from the Shuttle Landing Facility for their trip back to Houston. They’ll return to Kennedy just a few days before launch.

The launch rehearsal is part of the terminal countdown demonstration test, which gives astronauts the opportunity to try on their launch and entry suits, learn emergency procedures at the launch pad, and take part in a variety of familiarization activities and briefings.

Space Shuttle Discovery is in position at Launch Pad 39B, and the mission’s primary payloads, the P5 integrated truss segment and the SPACEHAB module, have been installed inside the orbiter’s payload bay. The launch window opens Dec. 7 for the STS-116 mission to the International Space Station.