STS-109 crew walkout to van

STS109-S-021 (1 March 2002) --- The STS-109 crew members wave to onlookers as they stride out from the Operations and Checkout Building, eager to get to the launch pad. They are, from front to back, Duane G. Carey (left) and Scott D. Altman (right); Nancy J. Currie, mission specialist; John M. Grunsfeld (left), payload commander, and Richard M. Linnehan (right); James H. Newman (left) and Michael J. Massimino (right), all mission specialists. On mission STS-109, the crew will capture the Hubble Space Telescope using Columbia's robotic arm and secure it on a work stand in Columbia's payload bay. Four members of the crew will perform five scheduled space walks to complete system upgrades to the telescope. Mission STS-109 is the 27th flight of the orbiter Columbia and the 108th flight overall in NASA's Space Shuttle program.