Discovery's Crew Arrives Upon the Space Coast

The seven member crew of the next space shuttle flight arrived this morning at the Kennedy Space Center in preparation for Monday's launch.

Discovery's crew arrived at sunrise under clear skies and cool temperatures in a Gulfstream II jet at 6:53 am EDT.

The crew departed the jet and each made "thank-you" comments to the men and women behind the scenes at both NASA and the private sector who help make space flight work.

Two days after launch, Discovery will arrive at the International Space Station and spend eight days transferring new supplies such as experiments, food, fuel and oxygen; and perform three spacewalks to retrieve a science experiment and install a new large ammonia tank on the outpost.

The ammonia tank will provide extra coolant to the space stations avionic systems which tend to run hot.

The crew's sleep shift will see them go to bed at noon and awaken eight hours later in support of the space station's work schedule.