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MISSION:
STS-107
-- SPACEHAB/FREESTAR
Microgravity Research Mission |
| Vehicle |
Columbia/OV-102 |
| Official Launch Date |
January 16, 2003 |
| Official Launch
Time |
10:39 a.m. EST |
| Target Landing Date |
February 1, 2003 |
| Mission Duration |
16 days |
| Crew |
Husband, McCool,
Anderson, Chawla, Brown, Clark, Ramon |
| Orbital Insertion
Altitude/ Inclination |
150
nautical miles/39 degrees |
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Shuttle
Processing Note (previous
notes) |
On its first launch attempt, Shuttle Columbia with its seven-member crew lifted off at 10:39 a.m. EST from Launch Complex 39-A to begin its 16-day SPACEHAB microgravity research mission. The launch team worked no significant technical issues during the flawless countdown.
This mission is the first of 2003 and the first dedicated research mission to be flown by the Shuttle program in nearly three years. Mission STS-107 is the 28th flight of the orbiter Columbia and the 113th flight overall in NASA's Space Shuttle program.
Columbia is carrying in its payload bay the SPACEHAB Research Double Module, a pressurized environment accessible to the crew. The module and the Shuttle’s middeck will hold most of the mission’s more than 80 experiments - involving more than 70 scientists worldwide - that will investigate space, life and physical sciences.
Solid Rocket Booster retrieval ships Liberty Star and Freedom Star are positioned in the recovery area about 140 miles east of Cape Canaveral ready to pick up the two spent booster casings. The ships are scheduled to return to Hangar AF at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station no earlier than Saturday, Jan. 18.
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