 TheHubble Space Telescope inColumbia's payload bay towards the end of the mission | |
| Names | Space Transportation System-109 |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Hubble servicing |
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 2002-010A |
| SATCATno. | 27388 |
| Mission duration | 10 days, 22 hours, 11 minutes, 09 seconds |
| Distance travelled | 6,300,000 kilometres (3,900,000 mi) |
| Orbits completed | 165 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Space Shuttle Columbia |
| Launch mass | 116,989 kg (257,917 lb) |
| Landing mass | 100,564 kg (221,706 lb) |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 7 |
| Members | |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 1 March 2002 11:22:02 (2002-03-01UTC11:22:02Z) UTC |
| Launch site | Kennedy,LC-39A |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | 12 March 2002 09:33:10 (2002-03-12UTC09:33:11Z) UTC |
| Landing site | Kennedy,SLF Runway 33 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee altitude | 486 km (302 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 578 km (359 mi) |
| Inclination | 28.5 degrees |
| Period | 95.3 minutes |
  (L-R):Michael J. Massimino,Richard M. Linnehan,Duane G. Carey,Scott D. Altman,Nancy J. Currie,John M. Grunsfeld andJames H. Newman. | |
STS-109 (SM3B) was aSpace Shuttle mission that launched from theKennedy Space Center on 1 March 2002. It was the 108th mission of theSpace Shuttle program,[1] the 27th flight of the orbiterColumbia[1] and the fourth servicing of theHubble Space Telescope.[2] It was also the last successful mission of the orbiterColumbia before the ill-fatedSTS-107 mission, which culminated in theColumbia disaster.
The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was placed in orbit during missionSTS-31 on 25 April 1990.[3] Initially designed to operate for 15 years, plans for periodic service and refurbishment were incorporated into its mission from the start.[4] After the successful completion of the second planned service mission (SM2) by the crew ofSTS-82 in February 1997, three of the telescope's sixgyroscopes failed.NASA decided to split the third planned service mission into two parts, SM3A and SM3B.[5] A fifth and final servicing mission,STS-125 (SM4) launched on 11 May 2009.[6] The work performed during SM4 kept HST in operation through 2024.[7]
| Position | Astronaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | Scott D. Altman Third spaceflight | |
| Pilot | Duane G. Carey Only spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 1 | John M. Grunsfeld Fourth spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 2 Flight Engineer | Nancy J. Currie Fourth and last spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 3 | Richard M. Linnehan Third spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 4 | James H. Newman Fourth and last spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 5 | Michael J. Massimino First spaceflight | |
| Seat[8] | Launch | Landing |  Seats 1–4 are on the flight deck. Seats 5–7 are on the mid-deck. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Altman | ||
| 2 | Carey | ||
| 3 | Grunsfeld | Linnehan | |
| 4 | Currie-Gregg | ||
| 5 | Linnehan | Grunsfeld | |
| 6 | Newman | ||
| 7 | Massimino | ||
| EVA | Team | Start – UTC | End – UTC | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grunsfeld Linnehan | 4 March 2002, 06:37 | 4 March 2002, 13:38 | 7:01 |
| 2 | Newman Massimino | 5 March 2002, 06:40 | 5 March 2002, 13:56 | 7:16 |
| 3 | Grunsfeld Linnehan | 6 March 2002, 08:28 | 6 March 2002, 15:16 | 6:48 |
| 4 | Newman Massimino | 7 March 2002, 09:00 | 7 March 2002, 16:18[9][10] | 7:18 |
| 5 | Grunsfeld Linnehan | 8 March 2002, 08:46 | 8 March 2002, 16:18[9][11] | 7:32 |
The purpose ofSTS-109 was to service theHubble Space Telescope (HST). It wasColumbia's first flight following an extensive two and a half year modification period (its most recent mission beingSTS-93). During the mission the crew installed a new science instrument, theAdvanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), new rigid solar arrays (SA3), a new Power Control Unit (PCU) and an experimental cryocooler for theNear Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS).Columbia also reboosted HST to a higher orbit.
The STS-109 astronauts performed a total of five spacewalks in five consecutive days to service and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. The spacewalkers received assistance from their crewmates insideColumbia. Currie operated the Shuttle'srobot arm while Altman was her backup. Carey and Altman documented the EVAs with video and still images.
Accomplishments of the spacewalks included the installation of new solar arrays, a new camera, a new Power Control Unit, aReaction Wheel Assembly and an experimental cooling system for the NICMOS unit. STS-109 accumulated a total of 35 hours, 55 minutes of EVA time. Following STS-109, a total of 18 spacewalks had been conducted during four Space Shuttle missions to service Hubble (the others beingSTS-61,STS-82,STS-103 andSTS-125) for a total of 129 hours, 10 minutes by 14 different astronauts.
Columbia made its twenty-seventh and last successful landing atKennedy Space Center, as on its next mission,STS-107, itdisintegrated on re-entry, killing all aboard.
STS-109 is considered a night launch, assunrise was at 6:47 am, andColumbia launched at 6:22 am EST, 25 minutes before sunrise.
| Attempt | Planned | Result | Turnaround | Reason | Decision point | Weather go (%) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 Feb 2002, 6:48:14 am | Scrubbed | — | Technical | 27 Feb 2002, 3:20 pm | 60 | Wrong bearings installed onColumbia's main landing gear.[12] |
| 2 | 1 Mar 2002, 6:22:02 am | Success | 0 days 23 hours 34 minutes | 80 | [13] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theNational Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Space ShuttleColumbia (OV-102) | ||
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