SPACEPHOTOS

(12/09/1999) --- During a Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) at SPACEHAB, in Cape Canaveral, Fla., STS-101 crew members Edward Tsang Lu (Ph.D.) and Yuri Malenchenko, who is with the Russian Space Agency (RSA) check out part of the Russian crane Strela. Other crew members are Commander James Donald Halsell Jr., Pilot Scott Horowitz, and Mission Specialists Jeffrey N. Williams, Mary Ellen Weber, (Ph.D.) and Boris W. Morukov, also with RSA. The primary objective of the STS-101 mission is to complete the initial outfitting of the International Space Station, making it fully ready for the first long-term crew. The seven-member crew will transfer almost two tons of equipment and supplies from SPACEHAB's Logistics Double Module. Additionally, they will unpack a shipment of supplies delivered earlier by a Russian Progress space tug and begin outfitting the newly arrived Zvezda Service Module. Three astronauts will perform two space walks to transfer and install parts of the Russian Strela cargo boom that are attached to SPACEHAB's Integrated Cargo Container, connect utility cables between Zarya and Zvezda, and install a magnetometer/pole assembly on the Service Module. Additional activities for the STS-101 astronauts include working with the Space Experiment Module (SEM-06) and the Mission to America's Remarkable Schools (MARS), two educational initiatives. STS-101 is scheduled for launch no earlier than March 16, 2000