Claim: May 1999 was when STS-96 was launched.

STS-96 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station -LRB- ISS -RRB- flown by Space Shuttle Discovery , and the first shuttle flight to dock with the International Space Station . The shuttle carried the Spacehab module in the payload , filled with cargo for station outfitting . STS-96 launched from Kennedy Space Center , Florida , on 27 May 1999 at 06:49:42 AM EDT .