STS-109

STS-109

STS-109

2002 American crewed spaceflight to the Hubble Space Telescope

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,[1] the 27th flight of the orbiter Columbia[1] and the fourth servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope.[2] It was also the last successful mission of the orbiter Columbia before the ill-fated STS-107 mission, which culminated in the Columbia disaster.

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The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was placed in orbit during mission STS-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 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.[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 2021.[7]

Crew

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Crew seating arrangements

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Spacewalks

Hubble Space Telescope sporting new solar arrays during SM3B.
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Mission highlights

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.

STS-109 Launch (March 1, 2002)
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.

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

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.

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See also

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

  1. [1]
    "Mission STS-109". NASA. Archived from the original on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
  2. [2]
    "The Hubble Space Telescope: SM3B". NASA. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
  3. [3]
    "The Hubble Space Telescope: Deployment". NASA. Archived from the original on 7 March 2009. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
  4. [4]
    "Servicing History and Long-Term Plans" (PDF). NASA. June 1993. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
  5. [5]
    "The Hubble Space Telescope: SM3A". NASA. Archived from the original on 20 March 2009. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
  6. [6]
    "STS-125: Final Shuttle Mission to Hubble Space Telescope". NASA. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
  7. [7]
    "The Hubble Space Telescope: SM4". NASA. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
  8. [8]
    "Spaceflight mission report: STS-109". www.spacefacts.de. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  9. [9]
    "STS-109 Mission Archives". NASA.
  10. [10]
    "STS-109 Status Report #14". NASA. 7 March 2002. Archived from the original on 6 April 2002.
  11. [11]
    "STS-109 Status Report #16". NASA. 8 March 2002. Archived from the original on 6 June 2002.
  12. [12]
    "Launch officially slips to Feb. 28". CBS News. 14 January 2002. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
  13. [13]
    "Cold front threatens shuttle launch". CBS News. 26 February 2002. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
  14. [14]
    "Columbia rockets into space". CBS News. 1 March 2002. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
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