WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

The Space Shuttle Discovery, atop the mobile launcher platform and crawler-transporter, approaches the turn in the crawlerway as it creeps to Launch Pad 39B at 1 mph. The crawler-transporter takes about five hours to cover the 4.2 miles from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad. Liftoff of Discovery on mission STS-96 is targeted for May 20 at 9:32 a.m. EDT. STS-96 is a logistics and resupply mission for the International Space Station, carrying such payloads as a Russian crane, the Strela; a U.S.-built crane; the Spacehab Oceaneering Space System Box (SHOSS), a logistics items carrier; and STARSHINE, a student-led experiment.