(10/03/1998) --- Lowered on a movable work platform or bucket inside the payload bay of orbiter Endeavour, STS-88 Mission Specialists Jerry L. Ross (far right) and James H. Newman (second from right) get a close look at the Orbiter Docking System. At left is the bucket operator and Wayne Wedlake, with United Space Alliance at Johnson Space Center. The STS-88 crew members are in Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 1 to participate in a Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) to familiarize themselves with the orbiter's midbody and crew compartments. Targeted for liftoff on Dec. 3, 1998, STS-88 will be the first Space Shuttle launch for assembly of the International Space Station (ISS). The primary payload is the Unity connecting module which will be mated to the Russian-built Zarya control module, expected to be already on orbit after a November launch from Russia. While on orbit during STS-88, Unity will be latched atop the Orbiter Docking System in the forward section of Endeavour's payload bay for the mating of the two modules. After the mating, Ross and Newman are scheduled to perform three spacewalks to connect power, data and utility lines and install exterior equipment. The first major U.S.-built component of ISS, Unity will serve as a connecting passageway to living and working areas of the space station. Unity has two attached pressurized mating adapters (PMAs) and one stowage rack installed inside. PMA-1 provides the permanent connection point between Unity and Zarya; PMA-2 will serve as a Space Shuttle docking port. Zarya is a self-supporting active vehicle, providing propulsive control capability and power during the early assembly stages. It also has fuel storage capability