Crew Compartment Trainer

Secured in a collapsible seat on the mid deck of a Crew Compartment Trainer (CCT) in June 1994, Astronaut Ellen Ochoa, payload commander, participates in a rehearsal of procedures to be followed during launch and entry phases of STS-66. This rehearsal, held in the CCT at Johnson Space Center's Shuttle Mockup and Integration Laboratory, was followed by a training session on emergency egress procedures. In November, Ochoa will join four other NASA astronauts and a European mission specialist for a week and a half aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis in Earth-orbit in support of the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS-3). (NASA photo)

Crew Compartment Trainer

Astronaut Scott E. Parazynski poses at the hatch of the Crew Compartment Trainer in June 1994 prior to a rehearsal of launch and entry procedures for a November 1994 flight aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis. Four other NASA astronauts and a European mission specialist joined the mission specialist for this training exercise at Johnson Space Center's Shuttle Mockup and Integration Laboratory and will join him aboard Atlantis in November. The flight is manifest to support the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS-3) mission. (NASA photo)

Crew Compartment Trainer

Astronaut Robert C. Springer, strapped into a chair, participates in entry phase rehearsals in January 1989 for his upcoming STS-29 flight. The mission specialist will join three crewmembers on the flight deck for launch but will move to the mid deck for entry, swapping positions with fellow crewmember Astronaut James P. Bagian, also a mission specialist. The rehearsals took place in the Crew Compartment Trainer in Johnson Space Center's Shuttle Mockup and Integration Laboratory. (NASA photo by Bill Bowers, Johnson Space Center)

Crew Compartment Trainer

Four of five crewmembers for STS-29 pause during launch and entry phase rehearsals in the Crew Compartment Trainer at Johnson Space Center in January 1989. The astronauts are in their entry positions, while the fifth (out of frame) remains strapped into a chair on the mid deck. In front are John E. Blaha (left), pilot, and Michael L. Coats, mission commander. Behind them are James P. Bagian (left) and James F. Buchli, both mission specialists. Robert C. Springer, the third mission specialist, is on the mid deck. He will occupy Discovery's middeck for entry phase, while Bagian will occupy that post for launch. (NASA photo by Bill Bowers, Johnson Space Center)

HH-53B

At the time, the fastest and largest helicopter introduced into the Air Force inventory was this HH-53B, shown during test operations at the Sikorsky Aircraft plant at Stratford, Conn. With a top speed of nearly 200 mph, the HH-53 was twice the size of the HH-3E "Jolly Green Giant," which was then in service in Southeast Asia. Developed by the Aeronautical Systems Division at Wright-Patterson AFB, the HH-53 had an in-flight refueling capability, and was outfitted with three 7.62 miniguns, armor plating and a hoist for rescuing downed airmen in hostile territory. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Northrop F-89J

Northrop F-89J-35-NO (S/N 52-1850) at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, on June 6, 1963. (U.S. Air Force photo)