The mission, which involves bringing part of a new Japanese science module to the station and five space walks, will be launched at 2 28 a.m.
There is little risk of this in the SDF's current Iraq mission, which involves giving humanitarian help to the quiet southern town of Samawah.
As the twilight grew closer, I volunteered to help with the evening's principal foraging mission, which involved going higher into the mountains to collect ice for our drinks.
In opening remarks, Salamatu Hussaini Suleiman, the Ecowas political commissioner, said she was optimistic that officials could overcome "disagreements" on the proposed first phase of the mission, which involves stabilizing southern Mali, where a coup occurred in March.
Ms. Lamb also provided a detailed account of what happened during the assault on the diplomatic mission, which involved more than 100 heavily armed extremists and ended in the deaths of Mr. Stevens, Glen Doherty, Tyrone Woods and Sean Smith.
Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper of the Navy, an astronaut on a mission to the station, was on the first spacewalk of the mission, which involves cleaning and greasing a balky rotary joint, when she discovered that a grease gun had erupted inside its tote bag.
The Discovery's 28th trip into space will also be the 100th flight for the space shuttle program, and the mission, which involves hauling up a nine-ton exterior framework for the station and a three-ton docking port, begins a new phase in expanding the orbital research outpost.
PETA activists argue that the mission, which involved surgical implants of instruments, is cruel and will yield little new data.
Meanwhile, ICZN has to continue to fulfill its core mission, which involves resolving things such as a dispute over the name of a giant tortoise, most commonly known as Testudo gigantea, found on the Indian Ocean atoll of Aldabra.
