STS-109

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox spaceflight STS-109 (SM3B) was a Space Shuttle mission that launched from the Kennedy Space Center on 1 March 2002. It was the 108th mission of the Space Shuttle program,<ref name=ksc1>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the 27th flight of the orbiter Columbia<ref name=ksc1/> and the fourth servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope.<ref name=sm3b>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was also the last successful mission of the orbiter Columbia before the ill-fated STS-107 mission, which culminated in the Columbia disaster.

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was placed in orbit during mission STS-31 on 25 April 1990.<ref name=deploy>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Initially designed to operate for 15 years, plans for periodic service and refurbishment were incorporated into its mission from the start.<ref name=plans>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After the successful completion of the second planned service mission (SM2) by the crew of STS-82 in February 1997, three of the telescope's six gyroscopes failed. NASA decided to split the third planned service mission into two parts, SM3A and SM3B.<ref name=sm3a>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A fifth and final servicing mission, STS-125 (SM4) launched on 11 May 2009.<ref name=sts125sm4>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The work performed during SM4 kept HST in operation through 2024.<ref name=sm4>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Crew

Crew seat assignments

citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Launch	Landing	File:Space Shuttle seating plan.svg 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

Spacewalks

File:Hubble Space Telescope SM3B.tif

Hubble Space Telescope sporting new solar arrays during SM3B.

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	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	7:18
5	Grunsfeld Linnehan	8 March 2002, 08:46	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	7:32

Mission highlights

File:STS-109-HST-s109e5700.jpg

Hubble Space Telescope after servicing by the crew of STS-109

The purpose of STS-109 was to service the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). It was Columbia's first flight following an extensive two and a half year modification period (its most recent mission being STS-93). During the mission the crew installed a new science instrument, the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), new rigid solar arrays (SA3), a new Power Control Unit (PCU) and an experimental cryocooler for the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS). Columbia also reboosted HST to a higher orbit.

File:STS-109 launch.jpg

STS-109 Launch (March 1, 2002)

File:ACS FOC swap.jpg

Astronauts remove the FOC to make room for the ACS

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 inside Columbia. Currie operated the Shuttle's robot 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, a Reaction 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 being STS-61, STS-82, STS-103 and STS-125) for a total of 129 hours, 10 minutes by 14 different astronauts.

File:Hubble on the payload bay just prior to being released by the STS-109 crew.jpg

Hubble on the payload bay just prior to being released by the STS-109 crew.

File:Eastern cordillera of the Andes.jpg

View of the Eastern Ranges of the Andean natural region, taken from STS-109.
Lake Tota is clearly visible.

Columbia made its twenty-seventh and last successful landing at Kennedy Space Center, as on its next mission, STS-107, it disintegrated on re-entry, killing all aboard.

STS-109 is considered a night launch, as sunrise was at 6:47 am, and Columbia launched at 6:22 am EST, 25 minutes before sunrise. Template:LaunchAttempt

See also

• List of human spaceflights
• List of Space Shuttle missions
• Outline of space science

External links

• Status reports – Detailed NASA status reports for each day of the mission.
• NASA mission summary Template:Webarchive
• STS-109 reentry pictures
• ESA/Hubble mission summary
• STS-109 Video Highlights Template:Webarchive