WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

The STS-81 flight crew goes over preflight checklists on the flight deck of the Space Shuttle orbiter Atlantis during the final phase of the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) exercises for that mission, a simulated final countdown until just before main engine ignition. The crew are in their flight positions with the orbiter in a vertical attitude at Launch Pad 39B, with the camera pointed down from the front cabin area. This angle creates the illusion that astronaut support assistant Pam Melroy (second from right) is floating in space. Seated on the left is Pilot Brent W. Jett, Jr., while Mission Commander Michael A. Baker is on the right. From the left in the back row are Mission Specialists Peter J. K. "Jeff" Wisoff and John M. Grunsfeld.