SPACEPHOTOS

(09/25/1997) --- The Space Shuttle Atlantis is poised for liftoff on the STS-86 mission from Launch Pad 39A. Now that the Rotating Service Structure is rolled back, one of the final prelaunch milestones will be the loading of the external tank with approximately 500,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to fuel the three main engines. STS-86 is slated to be the seventh docking of the Space Shuttle with the Russian Space Station Mir. Liftoff is targeted for Sept. 25 at 10:34 p.m. EDT during a preferred launch window which lasts six minutes and 45 seconds. Seven crew members will lift off for the scheduled 10-day flight. One of those crew members, David A. Wolf, will transfer to the Mir for an approximate four-month stay. He will replace U.S. astronaut C. Michael Foale, who will return to Earth with the remainder of the STS-86 crew. Foale has been on the Russian space station since mid-May