Next week, the launch of space shuttle Discovery on mission STS-120 moves one step closer as technicians are scheduled to roll the shuttle the short distance from the Orbiter Processing Facility to the giant Vehicle Assembly Building. Once inside, Discovery will be lifted and then joined to the waiting boosters and tank on the mobile launch platform. The main payload for the mission, the Italian-built U.S. Harmony module for the International Space Station, will be loaded inside Discovery at the launch pad.

http://ftp.amsat.org/amsat/archive/sarex/48hour/msg01055.html

NASA's Kennedy Space Center will hold a media event at 10 a.m. EDT, Tuesday, Sept. 18, to highlight the next piece to be added to the International Space Station. The Node-2 module, known as Harmony, will launch aboard space shuttle Discovery on mission STS-120, targeted for launch Oct. 23.

Harmony will act as an internal connecting port and passageway to additional international science labs and cargo spacecraft. The pressurized module will increase the living and working space inside the station and serve as a work platform outside for the station's robotic arm. The module is approximately 21 feet long and 14 feet in diameter.