KSC-98pc680

With an enthusiastic crowd of KSC workers wishing them a safe journey, the STS-91 crew walks out from the crew quarters in the Operations and Checkout (O&C) Building for their trip to Launch Pad 39A. Leading the group to the Astrovan are Mission Commander Charles J. Precourt (left) and Mission Specialist Wendy B. Lawrence. Pilot Dominic L. Gorie is directly behind Precourt, while Mission Specialists Franklin R. Chang-Diaz, Janet Lynn Kavandi and Valery Victorovitch Ryumin are behind Lawrence. STS-91 is scheduled to be launched on June 2 with a launch window opening around 6:10 p.m. EDT. The mission will feature the ninth and final Shuttle docking with the Russian space station Mir, the first Mir docking for Discovery, the first on-orbit test of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), and the first flight of the new Space Shuttle super lightweight external tank. Astronaut Andrew S. W. Thomas will be returning to Earth as a STS-91 crew member after living more than four months aboard Mir