SPACEPHOTOS

(06/06/1999) --- After landing on KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility Runway 15, the Space Shuttle orbiter Discovery is ventilated via the hose running underneath. At right is the crew hatch access vehicle by which the Shuttle crew exits to the astronaut transporter van. Discovery touched down at 2:02:43 a.m. EDT to complete the 9-day, 19-hour, 13-minute and 1-second long STS-96 mission. Nose gear touchdown was at 2:02:59 a.m., and the wheels stopped at 2:03:39 a.m. At the controls were Commander Kent V. Rominger and Pilot Rick D. Husband. Also onboard the orbiter were Mission Specialists Ellen Ochoa (Ph.D.), Tamara E. Jernigan (Ph.D.), Daniel T. Barry (M.D., Ph.D.), Julie Payette and Valery Ivanovich Tokarev. Payette represents the Canadian Space Agency and Tokarev the Russian Space Agency. The crew returned from the second flight to the International Space Station on a logistics and resupply mission. This was the 94th flight in the Space Shuttle program and the 26th for Discovery, also marking the 47th at KSC, the 24th in the last 25 missions, 11th at night, and the 18th consecutive landing in Florida