Technicians at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida will install three main engines into space shuttle Discovery beginning today as the spacecraft continues processing for the STS-133 mission targeted for launch in September. The liquid-fueled main engines provide about 1.5 million pounds of thrust at launch and burn continuously during the 8 1/2-minute ascent into orbit.
The astronauts, working at their training base at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, are undergoing spacewalk systems and photo and TV training today.