NASA's fourth Shuttle mission of 1996 will involve Shuttle Endeavour and a six-person crew performing microgravity research aboard the commercially owned and operated SPACEHAB Module. The crew also will deploy and retrieve a research satellite and perform rendezvous operations with a test satellite.
Launch of Endeavour on May 19 is scheduled for 6:30 a.m. EDT at the opening of a 2 1/2 hour available launch window. The STS-77 mission is forecast to last just over 10 days. Mission Control in Houston will be closely monitoring power consumption and cryogenic fuel reserves associated with the Shuttle's power system during the flight. Mission managers will have an option of shortening the mission one day if necessary. An on-time launch and nominal mission duration would result in a landing on May 29 a little after 7 a.m. EDT at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility.
The STS-77 crew is commanded by John Casper, making his fourth Shuttle flight. The pilot for the mission, Curt Brown, is making his third flight. There are four mission specialists assigned to the flight. Andrew Thomas, serving as Mission Specialist-1, is making his first flight. Mission Specialist-2 is Dan Bursch who is making his third flight. Mario Runco, serving as Mission Specialist-3, also is making his third flight. Mission Specialist-4 is Canadian astronaut Marc Garneau, who is flying in space for the second time.
STS-77 will be the 11th flight of Endeavour and the 77th mission flown since the start of the Space Shuttle program in 1981.