SPACEPHOTOS

(02/11/2000) -- After rollback of the Rotating Service Structure at Launch Pad 39A, Space Shuttle Endeavour, mated with its solid rocket boosters (left and right) and external tank (center), is bathed in light, ready for launch on mission STS-99. On top of the external tank, a light gleams like a star on the 13-foot-wide Gaseous Oxygen Vent Hood, often called the 'beanie cap.' The hood helps vent gaseous oxygen vapors away from the Space Shuttle. The hood will be raised and retracted two and a half minutes before launch. STS-99, known as the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), is scheduled for liftoff at 12:30 p.m. EST from Launch Pad 39A. The SRTM will chart a new course to produce unrivaled 3-D images of the Earth's surface. The result of the mission could be close to 1 trillion measurements of the Earth's topography. The mission is expected to last about 11days, with Endeavour landing at KSC Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 4:36 p.m. EST. This is the 97th Shuttle flight and 14th for Shuttle Endeavour