KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-109 Payload Commander John Grunsfeld relaxes during suit check, which is part of Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities. He and other crew members - Commander Scott Altman, Pilot Duane Carey and Mission Specialists Nancy Currie, James Newman, Richard Linnehan and Michael Massimino - are at Kennedy for the TCDT that also includes emergency egress training and a simulated countdown. Columbia is scheduled to be launched Feb. 28 on mission STS-109, a Hubble Servicing Mission. The goal of the mission is to replace Solar Array 2 with Solar Array 3, replace the Power Control Unit, remove the Faint Object Camera and install the ACS, install the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) Cooling System, and install New Outer Blanket Layer insulation. The launch will be the first for Columbia after returning from California where it underwent extensive maintenance, inspections and enhancements. More than 100 upgrades make Columbia safer and more reliable than ever before
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NASA ID
KSC-02PD0062
Date Created
January 30, 2002
Center
KSC
Media Type
image
Location
Kennedy Space Center, FL
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