SPACEPHOTOS

(03/19/2001) -- Members of the STS-104 crew check out equipment at the Space Station Processing Facility as part of Crew Equipment Interface Test activities. Seen are (from left) Mission Specialist Michael L. Gernhardt, Commander Steven W. Lindsey, Pilot Charles O. Hobaugh and Mission Specialist James F. Reilly II. Not shown is Mission Specialist Janet L. Kavandi. The mission will carry the Joint Airlock Module to the International Space Station. The U.S.-made module will allow astronauts and cosmonauts in residence on the Station to perform future spacewalks without the presence of a Space Shuttle. The module, which comprises a crew lock and an equipment lock, will be connected to the starboard (right) side of Node 1 Unity. Atlantis will also carry oxygen and nitrogen storage tanks, vital to operation of the Joint Airlock, on a Spacelab Logistics Double Pallet in the payload bay. The tanks, to be installed on the perimeter of the Joint Module during the mission’s spacewalks, will support future spacewalk operations and experiments plus augment the resupply system for the Station’s Service Module