Discovery astronauts do practice countdown

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., March 5 (UPI) -- Astronauts did a mock countdown in space shuttle Discovery at its Florida launch pad Friday, a month in advance of a flight to the International Space Station.

The countdown -- coordinated with 150 to 200 engineers at the Launch Control Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral -- ended with a simulated main engine shutdown at T-Minus 4 seconds, NASA said.

The seven-astronaut crew then practiced an emergency exit, crossing the Orbiter Access Arm at the 195-foot level of the launch tower and climbing into metal baskets that whisked them down a 1,200-foot slide-wire, Florida Today of Melbourne, Fla., reported.

The crew, led by mission commander Alan Poindexter, includes pilot James Dutton and mission specialists Clay Anderson, Rick Mastracchio, Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Stephanie Wilson and Naoko Yamazaki of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

Dutton, Metcalf-Lindenburger and Yamazaki will be making their first flights into space.

Discovery is set to blast off at 6:26 a.m. EST April 5 with a load of science experiments and a large pressurized container called a multipurpose logistics module used to transfer cargo to and from the space station.

It will be the next-to-last flight for Discovery, the oldest shuttle in service. Only four shuttle missions remain.

Discovery is set to make the final shuttle flight Sept. 16.