[KevinDavis]

Nicole Stott, the station-bound astronaut set to join the Expedition 21 crew living aboard the outpost, serves as Discovery's mission specialist No. 5 for the launch. The 46-year-old from Clearwater, Florida attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University before going to work as a structural design engineer at Pratt & Whitney. She then became a Kennedy Space Center worker on space shuttles and station hardware.

Once at the space station, she will exchange places with astronaut Tim Kopra, who then will return to Earth on the shuttle to conclude a month-and-a-half in space.

Stott just crawled through Discovery's hatch to take the right-hand seat on the middeck.

[KevinDavis]

Kevin Ford, a 49-year-old retired Air Force colonel from Montpelier, Indiana, will be Discovery's pilot. He was an F-15 pilot and an F-16 test pilot.

This spaceflight rookie is making his way to the flight deck's front-right seat right now.