JSC2000-00921 (27 January 2000) --- Astronaut Gerhard P.J. Thiele, mission specialist representing the European Space Agency (ESA), waves at colleagues from a T-38 jet trainer prior to departure from Ellington Field en route to Florida. Thiele, along with four American astronauts and one representing Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA), are scheduled for launch aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in a little less than a week.