KSC-99pp0919

During final launch preparations in the Operations and Checkout Building, STS-93 Commander Eileen M. Collins waves after donning her launch and entry suit. After Space Shuttle Columbia's July 20 launch attempt was scrubbed at the T-7 second mark in the countdown, the launch was rescheduled for Thursday, July 22, at 12:28 a.m. EDT. The target landing date is July 26, 1999, at 11:24 p.m. EDT. STS-93 is a five-day mission primarily to release the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which will allow scientists from around the world to study some of the most distant, powerful and dynamic objects in the universe. The new telescope is 20 to 50 times more sensitive than any previous X-ray telescope and is expected unlock the secrets of supernovae, quasars and black holes. The STS-93 crew numbers five: Commander Collins, Pilot Jeffrey S. Ashby, and Mission Specialists Stephen A. Hawley (Ph.D.), Catherine G. Coleman (Ph.D.) and Michel Tognini of France, with the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). Collins is the first woman to serve as commander of a shuttle mission