KSC01pp0586

STS-100 Commander Kent V. Rominger climbs out of the T-38 jet aircraft on his arrival at KSC. He and the rest of the crew Pilot Jeff Ashby and Mission Specialists Chris Hadfield, Scott E. Parazynski, John L. Phillips, Umberto Guidoni and Yuri Lonchakov are going to take part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, from emergency escape training at the pad to a simulated launch countdown. An international crew, Hadfield is with the Canadian Space Agency, Guidoni the European Space Agency and Lonchakov the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. The mission is carrying the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello and the Canadian robotic arm, SSRMS, to the International Space Station. Raffaello carries six system racks and two storage racks for the U.S. Lab. The SSRMS is crucial to the continued assembly of the orbiting complex and has a unique ability to switch ends as it works, “inchworming” along the Station’s exterior. Launch of mission STS-100 is scheduled for April 19 at 2:41 p.m. EDT from Launch Pad 39A