SPACEPHOTOS

(02/11/2000) --- Before entering the orbiter Endeavour, STS-99 Mission Specialist Gerhard Thiele of Germany is helped with final suit preparations by Travis Thompson, mechanical technician and a member of the White Room closeout crew. The White Room is an environmental chamber at the end of the orbiter access arm, on the fixed service structure, that provides entry to the orbiter crew compartment. STS-99, known as the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), will chart a new course to produce unrivaled 3-D images of the Earth's surface. The result of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission could be close to 1 trillion measurements of the Earth's topography. Scheduled for liftoff at 12:30 p.m. EST, the mission is expected to last 11days, with Endeavour landing at KSC Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 4:36 p.m. EST. This is the 97th Shuttle flight and 14th for Shuttle Endeavour