KSC-98pc1259

Near Launch Pad 39-B, STS-95 Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson climbs out of the M-113, a small armored personnel carrier, that is part of emergency egress training. The tracked vehicle could be used by the crew in the event of an emergency at the pad during which the crew must make a quick exit from the area. The STS-95 crew is at KSC to participate in a Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) which also includes mission familiarization activities and a simulated main engine cut-off exercise. Behind Robinson on the M-113 are other members of the mission: (left to right) Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, Pedro Duque of Spain, representing the European Space Agency (ESA), Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown and Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski. Not shown is Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, representing the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). The STS-95 mission, targeted for liftoff on Oct. 29, includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process