CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., March 19 (UPI) -- A huge canister containing food and equipment was moved Friday to the shuttle Discovery for its April 5 launch to the International Space Station.
The 65-foot-long canister, carrying more than 30,000 pounds of supplies, was rolled to launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center shortly after midnight, Florida Today reported.
The supplies were to be packed into an Italian-built cylindrical "moving van" dubbed Leonardo, NASA officials said.
The 13-day mission to the space station also is to include a replacement ammonia tank crucial to the station's cooling system, said Joe Delai, the mission's payload manager.
Tests this weekend will verify whether regulators are working properly inside the orbiter's right rear maneuvering engine pod. A problem with a helium valve was discovered during fueling last weekend, Florida Today reported.
