Crew boards Discovery for Launch

The seven member crew of Discovery spent the 10PM EDT hour tonight boarding the orbiter and strapping in for a kick-in-the-pants ride to space as the count down clock ticked closer to zero.

Discovery's commander Rick “C.J.” Sturckow boarded and took his seat on the flight deck on the left side (top image). Mission specialist and spaceflight rookie Nicole Stott ingressed next this evening and took her seat on the middeck. The crew also includes pilot Kevin Ford and mission specialists Jose Hernandez, Patrick Forrester, John "Danny" Olivas, and Christer Fuglesang (European Space Agency).