Veteran spacewalker Robert “Beamer” Curbeam is ready to launch spaceward next week aboard NASA’s space shuttle Discovery.

Curbeam, seen above in full spacewalking gear during a training session, is one of seven STS-116 astronauts set to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) on Dec. 7 to mark NASA’s third shuttle flight of 2006. Top shuttle managers officials approved the spaceflight’s launch date on Wednesday.

A veteran of ISS construction flights, Curbeam is only one of two experienced spaceflyers on the upcoming spaceflight—STS-116 commander Mark “Roman” Polansky is the other—and will participate in three spacewalks during the 12-day spaceflight.

Joining Curbeam and Polansky on their STS-116 mission are Discovery shuttle pilot William “Billy O” Oefelein, mission specialists Nick Patrick, Joan “Joanie” Higginbotham, Sunita “Suni” Williams and European Space Agency astronaut Christer Fuglesang.

The astronauts are expected to install a new piece of the space station’s main truss to the outpost, as well as rewire the orbital laboratory’s electrical system and exchange one Expedition 14 crewmember during their mission.

• NASA: Space Shuttle Discovery Set for Dec. 7 Launch
• Mission Discovery: The ISS Rewiring Job of NASA’s STS-116 a
• Complete Space Shuttle Mission Coverage
• The Great Space Quiz: Space Shuttle Countdown
• All About the Space Shuttle

-- Tariq Malik

Credit: NASA.