KSC-99pp0589

The STS-96 crew wave to onlookers as they walk out of the Operations and Checkout Building enroute to Launch Pad 39B and liftoff of Space Shuttle Discovery, targeted for 6:49 a.m. EDT. In their orange launch and entry suits, they are (clockwise from bottom left) Mission Specialists Tamara E. Jernigan, Julie Payette, Ellen Ochoa, Valery Ivanovich Tokarev and Daniel T. Barry, Pilot Rick D. Husband, and Commander Kent V. Rominger. Payette is with the Canadian Space Agency, and Tokarev is with the Russian Space Agency. STS-96 is a 10-day logistics and resupply mission for the International Space Station, carrying about 4,000 pounds of supplies, to be stored aboard the station for use by future crews, including laptop computers, cameras, tools, spare parts, and clothing. The mission also includes such payloads as a Russian crane, the Strela; a U.S.-built crane; the Spacehab Oceaneering Space System Box (SHOSS), a logistics items carrier; and STARSHINE, a student-involved experiment. It will include a space walk to attach the cranes to the outside of the ISS for use in future construction. Landing is expected at the SLF on June 6 about 1:58 a.m. EDT