WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

The STS-89 crew walk out of the Operations and Checkout Building and head for the Astrovan that will transport them to Launch Pad 39A, where the Space Shuttle Endeavour awaits to take them to Russia's Mir space station. Waving to the crowd and leading the way, from front to back, left to right, are Pilot Joe Edwards Jr., Commander Terrence Wilcutt, and Mission Specialists Bonnie Dunbar, Ph.D., Michael Anderson, Salizhan Sharipov of the Russian Space Agency, Andrew Thomas, Ph.D., and James Reilly, Ph.D. STS-89, slated for a 9:48 p.m. EST liftoff Jan. 22, is the eighth docking with the Russian Space Station Mir, the first Mir docking for Endeavour (all previous dockings were made by Atlantis), and the first launch of 1998. After docking with Mir, Mission Specialist Andrew Thomas, Ph.D., will transfer to the space station, succeeding David Wolf, M.D.