WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

The Space Shuttle Endeavour awaits the first glimpse of a very significant day for the youngest orbiter of the fleet as its Rotational Service Structure is rolled back just before dawn on its scheduled day of launch. STS-89, slated for a 9:48 p.m. EST liftoff Jan. 22, is the eighth docking with the Russian Space Station Mir, the first Mir docking for Endeavour (all previous dockings were made by Atlantis), and the first launch of 1998. After docking with Mir, Mission Specialist Andrew Thomas, Ph.D., will transfer to the space station, succeeding David Wolf, M.D., who will return to Earth aboard Endeavour. Dr. Thomas will live and work on Mir until June.