TerrenceWilcutt: Commander

Wilcutt,50, makes his fourth trip into space and his third docking with a spacestation. On two previous flights, he docked with the Russian space stationMir.

TerryWilcutt

Inaddition to commanding the mission, the U.S. Marine colonel and formertest pilot is responsible for docking with the station and landing theorbiter at the end of the mission. As commander, he took the four astronautsand two cosmonauts and turned them into a team that works and plays together.

"Partof the commander's mission is making sure they operate as a team," he said."They gave me a handpicked group of folks who were really ready to do themission."

Wilcuttsaid the crew often gets together for parties and were even together whenthe Zvezda service module docked in July, thus giving them an indicatortheir mission was a go.

Priorto entering the Marines, Wilcutt taught high school math for two years.He's logged more than 4,400 hours in more than 30 different aircraft.
 

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ScottAltman: Pilot

Alongwith assisting the commander to fly Atlantis, Altman, 41, is also the backuprobotic arm operator for the mission.

ScottAltman

TheU.S. Navy commander will assist arm operator Rick Mastracchio in usingthe robotic arm to assist the spacewalkers in performing their tasks. Anotherone of the Altman's duties includes acting as photographer and videographerfor the mission. He said he's been honing up on his skills to interviewthe crew members while aloft.

"Myfavorite question to ask is what's it like to launch into space," he said."As a pilot and astronaut we all love to talk about flying and it's a lotof fun for me."

Altman,a Navy test pilot, makes his second flight into space and has racked upmore than 3, 400 hours in 40 different types of aircraft.
 

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EdwardLu: Mission specialist 1

PhysicistEd Lu makes his second flight into space and his debut as a spacewalker.In 1997, he participated in one of the Shuttle-Mir missions.

EdLu

Lu,37, along with cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko will spend more than six hourson a spacewalk to venture more than 100 feet (30 meters) up the space stationand out of range of the shuttle's 50-foot (15-meter) robotic arm.

"We'reso far from the shuttle's airlock. We have to crawl all the way up, maybethe height of a 10- to 12-story building," he said. "We're going to climbhand over hand, much like a mountain climber."

Lujoined NASA in 1994 and is a private pilot with instrument and multi-engineratings. He has published numerous articles in scientific journals aboutsolar flares, plasma physics and cosmology.
 

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RickMastracchio: Mission specialist 2

Formerflight controller Rick Mastracchio makes his first flight after joiningthe astronaut corps in 1996.

RichardMastracchio

Hisduties on this flight include acting as flight engineer for the commanderand pilot during the orbiter's ascent and entry.

He'llalso be the primary operator for the shuttle's robotic arm to assist thespacewalkers. Mastracchio, 40, is also in charge of unloading the suppliesin the Spacehab module inside the shuttle's payload bay and transferringthem to the station. It's his job to make sure everything goes to the rightplace, much like unloading a moving van, but a bit more orchestrated.

"Weall have very specific tasks, but it's not a free for all," he said. "We'renot just transferring stuff, but we'll be installing it too."

Asa flight controller, Mastracchio worked on shuttle flight software andprocedures for shuttle ascent and abort procedures.
 

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DanBurbank: Mission specialist 3

U.S.Coast Guard aviator Lt. Cdr. Dan Burbank makes his first flight into spaceand acts a "stowmaster" for the mission.

DanBurbank

Burbank,39, will supervise the stowage and installation of equipment and suppliesfrom the orbiter and the Progress vehicle docked to the station.

"It'severything you can think of you'd want in your house from food clothingand water," he said, " along with guidance systems and electrical systems."

Burbankis also a backup spacewalker should Ed Lu or Yuri Malenchenko have to bereplaced.
 

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YuriMalenchenko: Mission specialist 4

RussianAir Force Col. Yuri Malenchenko makes his second trip into space and hisfirst aboard a space shuttle. He previously spent 126 days in space aboardMir in 1994.

YuriMalenchenko

Duringhis Mir stint, he made two spacewalks for a total of 12 hours. Malenchenko,38, also salvaged the mission when he manually docked a Progress supplyvehicle that failed to dock automatically. Without the supplies, he andhis crew mate would have had to return to Earth. Future missions mighthave been jeopardized also.

Malenchenkowill make one spacewalk with Ed Lu during this mission. He's had experiencewith both Russian and U.S. spacesuits and likes them both.

"Ipersonally like them both. Each one has advantages and disadvantages,"he said through a translator. "The Russian suit is...better for long-durationuse, but the American suit has the advantage of being able to change thepressure and [has] a display for the user to read."

Malenchenkois also responsible for working on the Russian systems inside and outsidethe station.
 

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BorisMorukov: Mission specialist 5

Medicaldoctor Boris Morukov has trained both for flights to Mir and aboard thespace shuttle and makes his first trip to space after 10 years in the cosmonautcorps.

BorisMorukov

Hisprimary duties include acting as medical officer, as well as unloadingequipment from the Progress supply vehicle and installing it.

Morukov,49, said it was an interesting experience for a cosmonaut to make a firstflight into space aboard a U.S. spacecraft.

"Tenyears ago I could not have imagined my first flight into space would beaboard a shuttle, five years ago I could," said Morukov through a translator."That's when the Shuttle-Mir program started."

Thoughtheir will be little time during the flight, Morukov said his curiosityas a doctor will be piqued . He previously worked as an investigator andproject manager for life-science experiments on Mir.