This is the STS-98 mission patch.
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Courtesy of NASA
Adding on To The International Space Station
News story originally written on January 31, 2001
Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled for launch on February 7, 2001, at 4:11 p.m. EST. This shuttle mission, STS-98, will carry 5 astronauts and the Destiny laboratory to the International Space Station (ISS). The
astronauts scheduled for this mission are Commander
Kenneth Cockrell, Pilot Mark Polansky, Mission specialists Robert Curbeam,
Marsha Ivins and
Thomas Jones. These astronauts will work with
the 3 men aboard the ISS to connect the Destiny lab to the ISS. It will take 3 spacewalks and use of the shuttle's robotic arm to attach the new lab to the ISS.
The American-built Destiny laboratory will be the research center of the ISS. Experiments will even be done there to aid in finding a cure for cancer and diabetes.
Bill Sheperd, Yuri Gidzenko, and Sergei Krikalev are now in their 4th month aboard the ISS. They will spend the next week preparing for the arrival of the new laboratory.
There will be a STS-98 press conference on February 1st at 4 p.m. EST. This mission briefing can be seen on NASA TV.
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