Yesterday, the Payload canister has been delivered to the launch pad. What can be seen is the “protective cover” of the canister. It is now being stored at the pad. After Discovery has been moved over to the pad (starting on Saturday evening), the payload will be integrated into it (at least this is what I think will happen – remember, I am still learning…).
I’ve also heard that the weather forecast looks good for the rollout. Processing flow in the VAB still seems to be great, so the rollout as scheduled is very likely. However, this seems not to bring in extra contingency, as some work usually done in the VAB seems to have moved over to the pad. The reason was weather, where the favorable weather on Saturday shall be used. In any case, the NASA guys are doing an excellent job.
So far, everything still looks like an October, 23rd launch is still quite probable.