KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The STS-109 crew poses for a photo at Launch Pad 39A during a break in training. From left are Mission Specialists Michael Massimino and Richard Linnehan, Pilot Duane Carey, Commander Scott Altman, and Mission Specialists Nancy Currie, John Grunsfeld and James Newman. Grunsfeld is also Payload Commander on the mission. The crew is taking part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities that include emergency egress training and a simulated countdown at the pad. 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. In the background can be seen the external tank flanked by the twin solid rocket boosters that will propel Columbia (unseen on the other side of the stack) into space. 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
description
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The STS-109 crew poses for a photo at Launch Pad 39A during a break in training. From left are Mission Specialists Michael Massimino and Richard Linnehan, Pilot Duane Carey, Commander Scott Altman, and Mission Specialists Nancy Currie, John Grunsfeld and James Newman. Grunsfeld is also Payload Commander on the mission. The crew is taking part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities that include emergency egress training and a simulated countdown at the pad. 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. In the background can be seen the external tank flanked by the twin solid rocket boosters that will propel Columbia (unseen on the other side of the stack) into space. 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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