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STS-77 Mission Specialist Andrew S. W. Thomas
finishes donning his launch/entry suit in the Operations and Checkout Building
with assistance from a suit technician. A native of South Australia,
the rookie astronaut joins a crew of five veterans on the fourth Shuttle flight of
1996. They will depart shortly for Launch Pad 39B,
where the Space Shuttle Endeavour is undergoing final preparations for liftoff
during a two-and-a-half hour launch window opening at 6:30 a.m.
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A flawless countdown culminates with an on-time liftoff as the Space Shuttle Endeavour
lights up the morning sky. Endeavour was launched on Mission STS-77 from Pad 39B
at 6:30:00 a.m. EDT, May 19. The fourth Shuttle mission of 1996 is devoted to the
continuing effort to help open the commercial space frontier.
Heading up the six-member crew is Commander John H. Casper. Curtis L. Brown Jr. is the
pilot and there are four mission specialists on board: Daniel W. Bursch, Mario Runco Jr.,
Andrew S. W. Thomas and Marc Garneau, who represents the Canadian Space Agency.
During the approximately 10-day mission, the astronauts will perform a variety of payload
activities, including microgravity research aboard the SPACEHAB-4 module, deployment and
retrieval of the Spartan 207 carrying the Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE)
and deployment and rendezvous with the Passive Aerodynamically-Stabilized
Magnetically-Damped Satellite (PAMS). (Photo Release Date: 05/19/96 ) |
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