WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

STS-84 crew members are all smiles for the dress rehearsal of their walkout from the Operations and Checkout Building to board the astronaut van which will take them to Launch Pad 39A. They are participating in an abbreviated practice countdown to launch called the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT). Leading the way, from left, are Pilot Eileen Marie Collins and Commander Charles J. Precourt. In the second row are Mission Specialists C. Michael Foale and Elena V. Kondakova, a Russian cosmonaut. Behind them, from left, are Mission Specialist Jean-Francois Clervoy, an astronaut with the European Space Agency; and U.S. astronauts and STS-84 Mission Specialists Edward Tsang Lu and Carlos I. Noriega. During the sixth Shuttle-Mir docking, Foale will t ake his place aboard the Russian Space Station Mir as a member of the Mir 23 crew, replacing U.S. astronaut Jerry M. Linenger, who will return to Earth on Atlantis. Launch of STS-84 is targeted for May 15.