English: The heart of the WB-57 Ascent Video Experiment, or WAVE project, is the “optical bench,” the gimbal-mounted structure that contains the telescopic lens and cameras. Mounted on the nose of NASA’s WB-57 jet, a high-altitude plane used by NASA’s Johnson Space Center for weather research, the video imaging system will help NASA track and safeguard Shuttle Discovery during STS-114: Space Shuttle Return to Flight. An engineering team lead by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., designed and built the WAVE system to capture visible-light and infrared imagery of the Shuttle during liftoff. Discovery is expected to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla., between May 15 and June 3.