SPACEPHOTOS

(08/18/2000) -- At the 195-foot level of Launch Pad 39B, STS-106 Pilot Scott D. Altman (left) gets into position in the slidewire basket while Commander Terrence W. Wilcutt reaches for the lever to release it. The basket is part of the emergency egress equipment from the orbiter. They and the rest of the STS-106 crew are taking part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Activities (TCDT), which includes emergency egress training, along with opportunities to inspect their mission payload in the orbiter’s payload bay, and a simulated launch countdown. STS-106 is scheduled to launch Sept. 8, 2000, at 8:31 a.m. EDT from Launch Pad 39B. On the 11-day mission, the seven-member crew will perform support tasks on orbit, transfer supplies and prepare the living quarters in the newly arrived Zvezda Service Module. The first long-duration crew, dubbed “Expedition One,” is due to arrive at the Station in late fall