KSC-97EC-1212 - STS-85 Mission Specialist Robinson prepares to enter Discovery 


STS-85 Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson prepares to enter the
Space Shuttle orbiter Discovery at Launch Complex 39A just prior to
launch, scheduled for 10:41 a.m. EDT. The primary payload on this
mission is the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the
Atmosphere-Shuttle Pallet Satellite-2 (CRISTA-SPAS-2) free-flyer. The
CRISTA-SPAS-2 will be deployed on flight day 1 to study trace gases in
the Earths atmosphere as a part of NASAs Mission to Planet Earth
program. Also aboard the free-flying research platform will be the
Middle Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph Instrument (MAHRSI).
Other payloads on the 11-day mission include the Manipulator Flight
Demonstration (MFD), a Japanese Space Agency-sponsored
experiment. Also in Discoverys payload bay are the Technology
Applications and Science-1 (TAS-1) and International Extreme
Ultraviolet Hitchhiker-2 (IEH-2) experiments.

 
                                               08/07/97