STS-99 crew check out emergency egress equipment at launch pad during TCDT

[KSC-00PP-0074]

  • Photo Number: KSC-00PP-0074

  • Release Date: 14-Jan-2000

  • Keywords: SHUTTLE,sts-99
    • Description: At Launch Pad 39A, STS-99 Commander Kevin Kregel (in front) and Pilot Dominic Gorie practice emergency egress procedures in a slidewire basket. Seven slidewires, with flatbottom baskets suspended from each wire, extend from the Fixed Service Structure at the orbiter access arm level. These baskets could provide an escape route for the astronauts until the final 30 seconds of the countdown in case of an emergency. The crew is taking part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities that provide the crew with simulated countdown exercises, emergency egress training, and opportunities to inspect the mission payloads in the orbiter's payload bay. STS-99 is the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, which will chart a new course, using two antennae and a 200-foot-long section of space station-derived mast protruding from the payload bay 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. Besides contributing to the production of better maps, these measurements could lead to improved water drainage modeling, more realistic flight simulators, better locations for cell phone towers, and enhanced navigation safety. Launch of Endeavour on the 11-day mission is scheduled for Jan. 31 at 12:47 p.m. EST.

    Resolution Format Width
    (Pixels)    		 Height
    (Pixels)    		 Size
    (Bytes)
    Thumbnail GIF 100 68 7830
    Slide GIF 172 150 37188
    Low GIF 320 219 55114
    Medium JPEG 1024 700 162119
    High JPEG 2670 1825 991701

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    Photos By: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (taken by Aerospace Imaging/Johnson Controls)
    Scanned By: Seven/Still Photo Imaging
    Captions: Information Dynamics, Inc (Kay Grinter, Anita Barrett, and Elaine Liston)
    Curator: NASA/KSC Internet Systems Lab (Dumoulin, Downs, Paladino)
    Last Updated: Tuesday August 28 18:09:55 EDT 2001 (J. Dumoulin)

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