page_title: STS-87
section_title: Mission highlights
hierarchical_section_title: STS-87 / Mission highlights
caption_attribution_description: On the Space Shuttle Columbia's middeck, the crewmembers for the mission pose for the traditional in-flight portrait. In front, left to right, are astronauts Steven W. Lindsey, pilot; Takao Doi, mission specialist representing Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA); and Winston E. Scott, mission specialist. In back are, from the left, astronauts Kevin R. Kregel, commander; and Kalpana Chawla, mission specialist; along with payload specialist Leonid Kadenyuk.
context_page_description: STS-87 was a Space Shuttle mission launched from Launch Complex 39B of the Kennedy Space Center on 19 November 1997. It was the 88th flight of the Space Shuttle, and the 24th flight of Columbia. The mission goals were to conduct experiments using the United States Microgravity Payload, conduct two EVAs, and to deploy the SPARTAN-201 experiment. This mission marked the first time an EVA was performed from Columbia. An EVA from Columbia was originally planned for STS-5 in 1982, but was cancelled due to spacesuit problems. It also marked the first EVA conducted by a Japanese astronaut, Takao Doi.
context_section_description: STS-87 flew the United States Microgravity Payload (USMP-4), Spartan-201, Orbital Acceleration Research Experiment (OARE), tEVA Demonstration Flight Test 5 (EDFT-05), the Shuttle Ozone Limb Sending Experiment (SOLSE), the Loop Heat Pipe (LHP), the Sodium Sulfur Battery Experiment (NaSBE), the Turbulent GAS Jet Diffusion (G-744) experiment and the Autonomous EVA Robotic Camera/Sprint (AERCam Sprint) experiment. Mid-deck experiments included the Middeck Glovebox Payload (MGBX) and the Collaborative Ukrainian Experiment (CUE).
caption: STS-87 in-flight crew portrait
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