KSC-98pc1487

The STS-88 crew members pose for a group photograph in front of a T-38 jet aircraft after their nighttime arrival at the Shuttle Landing Facility to take part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities. From left to right, they are Mission Specialist Sergei Krikalev, who is a Russian cosmonaut, Mission Specialist Nancy J. Currie, Mission Commander Robert D. Cabana, Pilot Frederick W. "Rick" Sturckow, and Mission Specialists Jerry L. Ross and James H. Newman. The TCDT provides the crew with simulated countdown exercises, emergency egress training, and opportunities to inspect their mission payloads in the orbiter's payload bay. Mission STS-88 is targeted for launch on Dec. 3, 1998. It is the first U.S. flight for the assembly of the International Space Station and will carry the Unity connecting module. Ross and Newman will make three spacewalks to connect power, data and utility lines and install exterior equipment