The STS-88 crew leave the Operations and Checkout Building for their trip to Launch Pad 39A.

The STS-88 crew leave the Operations and Checkout Building for their trip to Launch Pad 39A. In the front row (left to right) are Pilot Frederick W. "Rick" Sturckow, Mission Specialist Nancy J. Currie and Commander Robert D. Cabana. Behind them (left to right) are Mission Specialist Sergei Konstantinovich Krikalev, a Russian cosmonaut, and Mission Specialists Jerry L. Ross and James H. Newman. STS-88 is expected to launch at 3:56 a.m. EST with the six-member crew aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour on Dec. 3. Endeavour carries the Unity connecting module, which the crew will be mating with the Russian-built Zarya control module already in orbit. In addition to Unity, two small replacement electronics boxes are on board for possible repairs to Zarya batteries. The mission is expected to last 11 days, 19 hours and 49 minutes, with landing at 10:17 p.m. EST on Dec. 14