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.