(12/13/1999) -- Framed by branches of oak leaves in this photo, Space Shuttle Endeavour, on its mobile launcher platform, is transferred to Launch Pad 39A for mission STS-99. The van behind it is barely noticeable next to the gigantic stature of the moving vehicle. Named the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), it involves an international project spearheaded by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency and NASA, with participation of the German Aerospace Center DLR. The SRTM consists of a specially modified radar system that will gather data for the most accurate and complete topographic map of the Earth's surface that has ever been assembled