(CNN) – The all-veteran, six-astronaut crew of Space Shuttle Atlantis is slated to blast off today for a 12-day mission. NASA says the weather looks good for the 2:20 p.m. ET launch. There are three spacewalks planned during this trip to the International Space Station (ISS).

One person who will be watching as Atlantis takes off is our very own astronaut, Cady Coleman. We've been "counting down Cady" ahead of her mission to the ISS later this year. Cady was there, in-person, when the shuttle Discovery went up last month. Our John Zarrella followed her as she toured Kennedy Space Center (KSC) with two VIPs – her husband Josh and 9-year-old son Jamey.

Don't miss: Read Cady's blog about her trip to KSC

Editor's Note: Cady Coleman, Ph.D. is a NASA astronaut – a veteran of two space missions, who has logged over 500 hours in space. She is assigned to the Expedition 26 crew and is scheduled to fly to the International Space Station aboard the Russian Soyuz 25 in late 2010. Below is a blog written by Cady exclusively for CNN via NASA's Astronaut Office.

[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/05/14/cady.josh.jamey.ksc.34.cnn.art.jpg caption="Astronaut Cady Coleman poses with her husband Josh and son Jamey at Kennedy Space Center."]

By Cady Coleman, Special to CNN

How does the time go so fast? Just a few weeks ago, Jamey, Josh and I were watching the Space Shuttle Discovery blast off from the Kennedy Space Center for the STS-131 mission to the International Space Station. Now it is May, and the STS-132 crew is already poised for their trip to the station to deliver our newest Russian module.

I’ve worked many of the launches over the years, but I’ve never been able to see one with my family. Because we launch from there, many folks think that astronauts live at KSC, but most of us are based in Houston. That’s why it is a treat to visit the space center, especially at launch time.

In just two days, Josh, Jamey and I watched a space shuttle launch, cringed as an alligator snatched a muskrat, strapped ourselves into a shuttle launch simulation at the visitors’ center and checked out the KSC SWAT team. For a 9 year old, vacation doesn’t get any better than that, and his Mom and Dad were pretty thrilled as well.

I marvel every time I fly into KSC for training. The center covers something like 140,000 acres, many of which are part of a wildlife preserve. Alligators, wild boars, snakes and manatees are everywhere, right next to active launch pads and massive machines like the crawlers that carry the shuttle stack to the launch pad. I know that the KSC workers probably get used to seeing these things every day, but driving by the launch pads is a huge inspiration for me.

I always try to make time to visit the old launch pads from the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs when I come to KSC, and I felt lucky to be able to show these special places to Jamey and Josh. Those early missions were built one upon the other, flown by real people with the same passion for exploration that surrounds me in the NASA family. Even though it makes me sad, I often visit Launch Complex 34, where we lost the crew of Apollo 1. It is important to me to respect the memory of the astronauts that paved the road that I now travel. I am humbled to think about the moments in history connected to these places that have made it possible for astronauts like me to think of six months on a space station as almost routine!

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