NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is this week preparing to host the six astronauts of STS-133 through more in-depth training concluding with a full countdown dress rehearsal known as the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test or TCDT. The astronauts, led by veteran Commander Steve Lindsey, will fly to Kennedy on Tuesday to begin the standard training cycle leading up to launch. At the end of the week, the crew will board space shuttle Discovery just as they will on launch day, with the launch and flight controllers in Florida and Houston watching over the systems and preparations. The countdown will end just before main engine start, giving the astronauts a chance to practice for an unlikely emergency.
After the rehearsal, the astronauts will return to their training home at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Discovery and its crew are targeted to lift off on the real STS-133 on Nov. 1 at 4:40 p.m. EDT.