WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

Greeted by cheers from wellwishers at KSC and eager for their venture into space on the fifth Shuttle-Mir docking mission, the STS-81 astronauts depart the Operations and Checkout Building on their way to Launch Pad 39B. Leading the six-member crew is Mission Commander Michael A. Baker, followed by Pilot Brent W. Jett, Jr. Behind them are Mission Specialists John M. Grunsfeld, Jerry Linenger, Peter J. K. "Jeff" Wisoff, and Marsha S. Ivins. Their trip to the pad will take about 25 minutes aboard the Astrovan. Once there, they will take their positions in the crew cabin of the Space Shuttle Atlantis to await a liftoff during a seven-minute window that will open at 4:27 a.m. EST, January 12.