Crew of the STS-116 shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS),departing December 2006. The crew are about to take part in a training session in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility to prepare them for the mission. The astronauts are,from left to right: Robert L. Curbeam,mission specialist; Sunita L. Williams,Expedition 14 flight engineer; William A. Oefelein,pilot; Mark L. Polansky,commander; Joan E. Higginbotham,Nicholas J. M. Patrick and Christer Fuglesang,mission specialists. Photographed on 1st August 2005 at NASA's Johnson Space Center,Houston,Texas,USA |