SPACEPHOTOS

(08/18/2000) -- At the 195-foot level of Launch Pad 39B, STS-106 Mission Specialists (left to right) Richard A. Mastracchio and Edward T. Lu pause for a photo before taking their seats in the slidewire basket, which is part of the emergency egress equipment. They and the rest of the STS-106 crew are taking part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Activities (TCDT), which includes emergency egress training, along with opportunities to inspect their mission payload in the orbiter’s payload bay, and a simulated launch countdown. STS-106 is scheduled to launch Sept. 8, 2000, at 8:31 a.m. EDT from Launch Pad 39B. On the 11-day mission, the seven-member crew will perform support tasks on orbit, transfer supplies and prepare the living quarters in the newly arrived Zvezda Service Module. The first long-duration crew, dubbed “Expedition One,” is due to arrive at the Station in late fall