CRISTA-SPAS payload in the payload bay of STS-66 shuttle Atlantis

STS066-129-043 (3-14 Nov 1994) --- Clouds over the Atlantic Ocean serve as the backdrop for this 70mm scene of the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere (CRISTA), attached to the Shuttle Pallet System (SPAS). CRISTA-SPAS was in the grasp of the Space Shuttle Atlantis' Remote Manipulator System (RMS) arm. The crew deployed the CRISTA-SPAS on November 4, 1994 and the tandem remained in free-flight until November 12, 1994 when it was retrieved by the Canadian-built RMS, controlled by payload commander Ellen Ochoa. Other crew members onboard Atlantis were astronauts Donald R. McMonagle, Curtis L. Brown, Jr., Scott E. Parazynski and Joseph R. Tanner, along with Jean-François Clervoy of the European Space Agency (ESA). The six astronauts spent 11-days in Earth-orbit in support of the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS-3) mission.