SPACEPHOTOS

(09/25/1997) --- As part of the final STS-86 prelaunch activities, the seven crew members gather for a snack and a photo opportunity in the Operations and Checkout Building. From left are Mission Specialist Wendy B. Lawrence; Pilot Michael J. Bloomfield; Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski; Commander James D. Wetherbee; Mission Specialist David A. Wolf; Mission Specialist Jean-Loup J.M. Chretien of the French Space Agency, CNES; and Mission Specialist Vladimir Georgievich Titov of the Russian Space Agency. After a weather briefing, the astronauts will don their orange launch and entry suits and depart for Launch Pad 39A where the Space Shuttle Atlantis awaits liftoff at about 10:34 p.m. EDT, Sept. 25. The exact launch time may vary slightly based on calculations of the Russian Space Station Mir’s precise location in space at the time of liftoff. STS-86 is slated to be the seventh of nine planned dockings of the Shuttle with the Mir. Wolf is scheduled to become a member of the Mir 24 crew, replacing U.S. astronaut C. Michael Foale who will return to Earth aboard Atlantis after more than four months on the Russian orbiting outpost