KSC-99pp0995

Under the watchful eyes of a KSC worker (far left), members of the STS-99 crew check out equipment in the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) Bay 2. From left are Mission Specialists Mamoru Mohri, Gerhard P.J. Thiele, and Janice Voss (Ph.D.). Mohri represents the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan, and Thiele the European Space Agency. Other crew members (not shown) are Commander Kevin R. Kregel, Pilot Dominic L. Pudwill Gorie, and Mission Specialist Janet Lynn Kavandi (Ph.D.). The crew are at KSC to take part in a Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT), which provides an opportunity for crew members to check equipment and facilities that will be aboard the orbiter during their mission. The STS-99 mission is the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), a specially modified radar system that will gather data for the most accurate and complete topographic map of the Earth's surface that has ever been assembled. SRTM will make use of radar interferometry, wherein two radar images are taken from slightly different locations. Differences between these images allow for the calculation of surface elevation, or change. The SRTM hardware will consist of one radar antenna in the shuttle payload bay and a second radar antenna attached to the end of a mast extended 60 meters (195 feet) out from the shuttle. STS-99 is scheduled to launch Sept. 16 at 8:47 a.m. from Launch Pad 39A