A milestone in preparation for Space Shuttle Discovery's Return to Flight Mission (STS-114) was achieved on April 14 when the hatch was closed on the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, Raffaello, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. (KSC). The module will carry 12 racks of cargo to the International Space Station (ISS), including food, clothing, spare parts and research equipment.

" With hatch closure of Raffaello, we are one step closer to Return to Flight and resuming re-supply and assembly of the Station," said Tip Talone, director of International Space Station and Payload Processing at KSC. "The processing team did a superior job."

The Boeing Company, KSC and NASA prime contractor for ISS element processing, prepared Raffaello for flight. The module was built by the Italian Space Agency for NASA under a cooperative space agreement.

Returning the Shuttle to flight and completing the ISS are the first steps in the Vision for Space Exploration, a stepping stone strategy toward new exploration goals. Using the ISS to study human endurance and adaptation in space, and to test new technologies and techniques, NASA will be prepared for longer journeys to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

For photos of hatch closure on the Internet, visit:

http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/index.cfm

For more information on NASA and Return to Flight on the Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight