SPACEPHOTOS

(03/25/1999) --- At Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., members of two Shuttle crews take a close 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 Specialists Daniel T. Barry and Tamara E. Jernigan, Pilot Rick Douglas Husband, and Mission Specialist Julie Payette; next to them is STS-101 Mission Specialist Yuri Ivanovich Malenchenko, with the Russian Space Agency. 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