KSC-02pp0224
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - Billows of smoke and steam flow over the launch pad as Space Shuttle Columbia leaps into space on mission STS-109. Liftoff occurred at 6:22:02:08 a.m. EST (11:22:02:08 GMT). This was the 27th flight of the vehicle and 108th in the history of the Shuttle program. The goal of mission STS-109 is the maintenance and upgrade of the Hubble Space Telescope, to be carried out in five spacewalks. The crew comprises Commander Scott D. Altman, Pilot Duane G. Carey, Payload Commander John M. Grunsfeld, and Mission Specialists Nancy Jane Currie, Richard M. Linnehan, James H. Newman and Michael J. Massimino. After the 11-day mission, Columbia is expected to return to KSC March 12 about 4:35 a.m. EST (09:35 GMT).
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Details
NASA ID
KSC-02pp0224
Date Created
March 1, 2002
Center
KSC
Media Type
image
Location
Kennedy Space Center, FL
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