The crew step eagerly to the Astrovan the bus that will take to Launch Pad 39A for liftoff of Space Shuttle Endeavour.

The STS-99 crew step eagerly to the "Astrovan," the bus that will take them to Launch Pad 39A for liftoff of Space Shuttle Endeavour. In their orange launch and entry suits, they are (left to right) Mission Specialists Mamoru Mohri of Japan, Janice Voss, Gerhard Thiele of Germany and Janet Lynn Kavandi, Pilot Dominic Gorie and Commander Kevin Kregel. Mohri is with the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan, and Thiele is with the European Space Agency. Known as the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), STS-99 is scheduled for liftoff at 12:30 p.m. EST. The SRTM will chart a new course to produce unrivaled 3-D images of the Earth's surface. The result of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission could be close to 1 trillion measurements of the Earth's topography. The mission is expected to last 11days, with Endeavour landing at KSC Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 4:36 p.m. EST. This is the 97th Shuttle flight and 14th for Shuttle Endeavour