WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

The SPACEHAB Double module arrives at the payload changeout room at Launch Pad 39B before being transferred to Space Shuttle Discovery's payload bay for mission STS-96. Above it is the Integrated Cargo Carrier, which holds nonpressurized payloads such as a Russian crane, the Strela, and a U.S.-built crane. The second flight supporting construction of the International Space Station, STS-96 is a logistics and resupply mission, carrying more than 5,000 pounds of supplies, plus experiments such as STARSHINE, which was developed by and for students. The crew of seven are Commander Kent V. Rominger, Pilot Rick Douglas Husband, and Mission Specialists Ellen Ochoa (Ph.D.), Tamara E. Jernigan (Ph.D.), Daniel Barry (M.D., Ph.D.), Julie Payette, with the Canadian Space Agency, and Valery Ivanovich Tokarev, with the Russian Space Agency. Liftoff is scheduled for May 20 at 9:32 a.m. EDT.