Orbiter: Columbia
Shuttle Mission: STS-109
Date: March 1, 2002

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -– The STS-109 crew members make final preparations in the White Room at Launch Pad 39A and board Shuttle Columbia for launch. The 11-day mission will provide maintenance and upgrade to the Hubble Space Telescope, replacing Solar Array 2 with Solar Array 3, replacing the Power Control Unit, installing the ACS (after removing the Faint Object Camera), the Near Infrared Camera, the Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) Cooling System, and the New Outer Blanket Layer insulation.

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Pre-Launch Video Table of Contents

Launch Video Coverage
White Room
March 1, 2002

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STS-109 Astronauts enter the Space Shuttle Columbia

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STS-109 photos are online. (Note: This is a graphic-intensive site and may be difficult to view with low speed modems or when this web site receives heavy traffic loads).