SPACEPHOTOS

(05/27/1999) --- The STS-96 crew smile and wave at onlookers as they eagerly head for the bus that will take them to Launch Pad 39B for liftoff of Space Shuttle Discovery, targeted for 6:49 a.m. EDT. From left to right in front are Mission Specialists Valery Ivanovich Tokarev, Ellen Ochoa, Julie Payette and Tamara E. Jernigan; in back are Mission Specialist Daniel T. Barry, Pilot Rick D. Husband, and Commander Kent V. Rominger. Payette is with the Canadian Space Agency, and Tokarev is with the Russian Space Agency. STS-96 is a 10-day logistics and resupply mission for the International Space Station, carrying about 4,000 pounds of supplies, to be stored aboard the station for use by future crews, including laptop computers, cameras, tools, spare parts, and clothing. The mission also includes such payloads as a Russian crane, the Strela; a U.S.-built crane; the Spacehab Oceaneering Space System Box (SHOSS), a logistics items carrier; and STARSHINE, a student-involved experiment. It will include a space walk to attach the cranes to the outside of the ISS for use in future construction. Landing is expected at the SLF on June 6 about 1:58 a.m. EDT