KSC-98pc1311

On Launch Pad 39B, the STS-95 crew pose after successfully completing a pre-launch countdown exercise on Space Shuttle Discovery. Standing from left to right are Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski, Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson, Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai (M.D., Ph.D.), representing the National Space Development Agency in Japan (NASDA), Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown, Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, and Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain, representing the European Space Agency (ESA). In the background (left) can be seen one of the solid rocket boosters and the external tank. The STS-95 crew are at KSC to participate in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) which includes mission familiarization activities, emergency egress training, and a simulated main engine cutoff. 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. Following the TCDT, the crew will be returning to Houston for final flight preparations