KSC-98pc1525

After suiting up for their practice countdown exercise, STS-88 crew members head for the bus outside the Operations and Checkout Building for the trip to Launch Pad 39A. From left they are Mission Specialist Jerry L. Ross, Mission Specialist Sergei Krikalev, who is a Russian cosmonaut, Mission Specialists James H. Newman and Nancy J. Currie, Pilot Frederick W. "Rick" Sturckow, and Mission Commander Robert D. Cabana. The crew are at KSC to participate in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) which includes mission familiarization activities, emergency egress training, and the simulated main engine cut-off exercise. 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