WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

The STS-91 flight crew poses for a group portrait in front of Space Shuttle Discovery at Launch Complex 39A during Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities. The TCDT is a dress rehearsal for launch. From left to right, they are Pilot Dominic Gorie; Mission Specialists Franklin Chang-Diaz, Ph.D.; Wendy B. Lawrence and Janet Kavandi, Ph.D.; Mission Commander Charles Precourt; and Mission Specialist Valery Ryumin, with the Russian Space Agency. STS-91 is scheduled to be launched on June 2 with a launch window opening around 6:10 p.m. EDT. The mission will feature the ninth Shuttle docking with the Russian Space Station Mir, the first Mir docking for Discovery, the conclusion of Phase I of the joint U.S.-Russian International Space Station Program, and the first flight of the new Space Shuttle super lightweight external tank. Andrew Thomas, Ph.D., will be returning to Earth with the crew after living more than four months aboard Mir.