KSC-99PP-0321

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In bay 1 of the Orbiter Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-96 mission specialist Julie Payette of the Canadian Space Agency poses next to the Canadian arm in the payload bay of the space shuttle Discovery. The STS-96 crew is at Kennedy for a Crew Equipment Interface Test. Other crew members are Commander Kent Rominger, Pilot Rick Douglas Husband, and Mission Specialists Ellen Ochoa, Tamara Jernigan, Daniel Barry, and Valery Tokarev of the Russian Space Agency. The primary payload of STS-96 is the SPACEHAB Double Module. In addition, the space shuttle will carry unpressurized cargo such as the external Russian cargo crane known as STRELA the Spacehab Oceaneering Space System Box, which is a logistics items carrier and an ORU Transfer Device, a U.S.-built crane that will be stowed on the station for use during future ISS assembly missions. These cargo items will be stowed on the International Cargo Carrier, fitted inside the payload bay behind the SPACEHAB module. STS-96 is targeted for launch on May 24, from Launch Pad 39B. Photo Credit: NASA