KSC-01PP-0223

STS-98 Pilot Mark Polansky grins on his arrival at the Shuttle Landing Facility in a T-38 jet aircraft. He and other crew members Commander Ken Cockrell and Mission Specialists Robert Curbeam, Thomas Jones and Marsha Ivins have returned to KSC to prepare for their launch to the International Space Station. The seventh construction flight to the Space Station, STS-98 will carry the U.S. Laboratory Destiny, a key module for space experiments. The 11-day mission includes three spacewalks to complete outside assembly and connection of electrical and plumbing lines between the laboratory, Station and a relocated Shuttle docking port. STS-98 is Polansky’s first space flight. Launch is targeted for Feb. 7 at 6:11 p.m. EST