International Space Station (ISS)

Five NASA astronauts and two cosmonauts representing the Russian Aviation and Space Agency take a break in training from their scheduled September 2000 visit to the International Space Station (ISS). Astronauts Terrence W. Wilcutt (right front), and Scott D. Altman (left front) are mission commander and pilot, respectively. On the back row (from the left) are mission specialists Boris V. Morukov, cosmonaut, along with astronauts Richard A. Mastracchio, Edward T. Lu, and Daniel C. Burbank, and cosmonaut Yuri I. Malenchenko. Morukov and Malenchenko represent the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. Launched aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis on September 8, 2000 at 7:46 a.m. (CDT), the STS-106 crew successfully prepared the International Space Station (ISS) for occupancy. Acting as plumbers, movers, installers and electricians, they installed batteries, power converters, a toilet and a treadmill on the outpost. They also delivered more than 2,993 kilograms (6,600 pounds) of supplies. Lu and Malenchenko performed a space walk to connect power, and data and communications cables to the newly arrived Zvezda Service Module and the Station.