SPACEPHOTOS

(03/25/1999) --- At Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., members of two Shuttle crews look at components of a Russian cargo crane, the Strela, to be mounted to the exterior of the Russian station segment on the International Space Station (ISS). From left are STS-96 Mission Specialist Julie Payette and Daniel T. Barry, Commander Kent V. Rominger and Mission Specialist Tamara E. Jernigan; three technicians from DaimlerChrysler Aerospace; (in the background, facing right) STS-101 Commander James Donald Halsell Jr.; STS-101 Mission Specialists Yuri Ivanovich Malenchenko, with the Russian Space Agency, and Edward Tsang Lu; and two more technicians from DaimlerChrysler. Both missions include the SPACEHAB Double Module, carrying internal and resupply cargo for Station outfitting. For the first time, STS-96 will include an Integrated Cargo Carrier (ICC) that will carry the Strela; the SPACEHAB Oceaneering Space System Box (SHOSS), which is a logistics items carrier; and a U.S.-built crane (ORU Transfer Device, or OTD) that will be stowed on the station for use during future ISS assembly missions. The ICC can carry up to 6,000 lb of unpressurized payload. It was built for SPACEHAB by DaimlerChrysler and RSC Energia of Korolev, Russia. STS-96 is targeted for launch on May 24 from Launch Pad 39B. STS-101 is scheduled to launch in early December 1999