SPACEPHOTOS

(04/27/1999) --- The STS-96 crew visit Launch Pad 39B where Space Shuttle Discovery, in the background, is being prepared for the mission launch on May 20. From left to right are Commander Kent V. Rominger; Mission Specialists Valery Ivanovich Tokarev, Julie Payette, Ellen Ochoa (Ph.D.), and Tamara E. Jernigan (Ph.D.); Pilot Rick Douglas Husband; and Mission Specialist Daniel Barry (M.D., Ph.D.). The crew are taking part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities. The TCDT provides simulated countdown exercises, emergency egress training, and opportunities to inspect the mission payloads in the orbiter's payload bay. Mission STS-96 is a logistics and resupply mission for the International Space Station, carrying 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-led experiment