WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

A smiling Mission Specialist Jerry L. Ross prepares to exit the T-38 jet aircraft that brought him to the Shuttle Landing Facility. He joins other crew members Mission Commander Robert D. Cabana, Pilot Frederick W. "Rick" Sturckow, Mission Specialist Nancy J. Currie, Mission Specialist James H. Newman and Mission Specialist Sergei Konstantinovich Krikalev, a Russian cosmonaut, for pre-launch preparations for mission STS-88 aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour. The scheduled time of launch is 3:56 a.m. EST on Dec. 3 from Launch Pad 39A. The mission is the first U.S. launch for the International Space Station. Endeavour carries the Unity connecting module which the crew will be mating with the Russian-built Zarya control module already in orbit. In addition to Unity, two small replacement electronics boxes are on board for possible repairs to Zarya batteries. Endeavour is expected to land at KSC at 10:17 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 14.