WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

The STS-27 crew strides down the ramp from the Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy Space Center to grab a van that will take the crew members to Launch Complex 39 for the December 2, 1988 liftoff of Atlantis. Astronaut Robert L. Gibson, commander, waves to well-wishers (out of frame). He is followed by astronaut Guy S. Gardner, pilot, along with the flight's three mission specialists -- astronauts William M. Shepherd, Richard M.(Mike) Mullane and Jerry L. Ross.