STS-109 (Hubble Servicing Mission 3B '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, the 27th flight of the orbiter Columbia and the fourth servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope. It was also the penultimate mission of the orbiter Columbia before the STS-107 mission, which was destroyed during re-entry in the Columbia disaster.

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was placed in orbit during mission STS-31 on 25 April 1990. Initially designed to operate for 15 years, plans for periodic service and refurbishment were incorporated into its mission from the start. 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. A fifth and final servicing mission, STS-125 (SM4) launched on 11 May 2009. The work performed during SM4 kept HST in operation through 2025.

Crew

PositionAstronaut
CommanderScott D. Altman Third spaceflight
PilotDuane G. Carey Only spaceflight
Mission Specialist 1John M. Grunsfeld Fourth spaceflight
Mission Specialist 2 Flight EngineerNancy J. Currie Fourth and last spaceflight
Mission Specialist 3Richard M. Linnehan Third spaceflight
Mission Specialist 4James H. Newman Fourth and last spaceflight
Mission Specialist 5Michael J. Massimino First spaceflight

Crew seat assignments

SeatLaunchLandingSeats 1–4 are on the flight deck. Seats 5–7 are on the mid-deck.
1Altman
2Carey
3GrunsfeldLinnehan
4Currie-Gregg
5LinnehanGrunsfeld
6Newman
7Massimino

Spacewalks

Hubble Space Telescope sporting new solar arrays during SM3B.
EVATeamStart – UTCEnd – UTCDuration
1Grunsfeld Linnehan4 March 2002, 06:374 March 2002, 13:387:01
2Newman Massimino5 March 2002, 06:405 March 2002, 13:567:16
3Grunsfeld Linnehan6 March 2002, 08:286 March 2002, 15:166:48
4Newman Massimino7 March 2002, 09:007 March 2002, 16:187:18
5Grunsfeld Linnehan8 March 2002, 08:468 March 2002, 16:187:32

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.

Space shuttle Columbia launches on mission STS-109.
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.
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 6:47am, and Columbia launched at 6:22am EST, 25 minutes before sunrise.

AttemptPlannedResultTurnaroundReasonDecision pointWeather go (%)Notes
128 Feb 2002, 6:48:14 amScrubbed—Technical27 Feb 2002, 3:20 pm60Wrong bearings installed on Columbia's main landing gear.
21 Mar 2002, 6:22:02 amSuccess0days 23hours 34minutes80

See also

This article incorporatesfrom websites or documents of theNational Aeronautics and Space Administration.

External links