In the Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 3 check equipment that will fly on mission STS-93.

In the Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 3, during the Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT), Mission Specialist Catherine G. Coleman (left) and Mission Commander Eileen M. Collins (right) check equipment that will fly on mission STS-93. The STS-93 mission will deploy the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF) which comprises three major elements: the spacecraft, the telescope, and the science instrument module (SIM). AXAF will allow scientists from around the world to obtain unprecedented X-ray images of a variety of high-energy objects to help understand the structure and evolution of the universe. Collins is the first woman to serve as a shuttle mission commander. The other STS-93 crew members are Pilot Jeffrey S. Ashby, Mission Specialist Steven A. Hawley and Mission Specialist Michel Tognini of France. Targeted date for the launch of STS-93 is March 18, 1999