SPACEPHOTOS

(09/12/2000) -- With a blue-gray bank of clouds and the Atlantic Ocean as a backdrop, the morning sun spotlights Launch Pad 39A and Space Shuttle Discovery atop the Mobile Launcher Platform. Above Discovery looms the 80-foot fiberglass lightning mast. At left is the Rotating Service Structure in its open position. Discovery is scheduled to launch on mission STS-92 Oct. 5 at 9:30 p.m. EDT. Making the 100th Space Shuttle mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Discovery will carry two pieces of hardware for the International Space Station, the Z1 truss, which is the cornerstone truss of the Station, and the third Pressurized Mating Adapter. Discovery also will be making its 28th flight into space, more than any of the other orbiters to date