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The CrewCargoTimelineEVAShuttle ArchivesPrevious mission: STS-108Next mission: STS-110STS-109: The fourth Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission
Mission Patch
Image: STS-109 Insignia
Mission Highlights
Mission:Hubble Space Telescope Servicing
Shuttle:Columbia
Launch
Pad:		39A
Launch:March 1, 2002
5:22 a.m. CST
Window:62 minutes
Grapple:March 3, 2002
3:31 a.m. CST
EVAs:5 spacewalks
Deploy:March 9, 2002
4:04 a.m. CST
Landing:March 12, 2002
3:32 a.m. CST
Duration:10 days,
22 hours,
10 minutes
Orbit
Altitude:		308 nautical
miles
Orbit
Inclination:		28.5°
Related Links
*STS-109 Interactive
(Requires Flash Player)
*STS-109 Press Kit
*STS-103 Archives (HST Servicing Mission 3A)
*John Grunsfeld Reports (from STS-103)
*Hubble Site
Imagery

IMAGE: Space Shuttle Columbia
Space Shuttle Columbia lands at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., at 3:32 a.m. CST (0932 GMT) March 12, 2002, to wrap up STS-109, the fourth Hubble Telescope Servicing Mission.

Click here to see STS-109 Flight Day 9 images in the Gallery.

Columbia Lands in Florida to End Hubble Servicing Mission
STS-109 came to an end when Commander Scott Altman and Pilot Duane Carey brought Space Shuttle Columbia in for a landing at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., at 3:32 a.m. CST (0932 GMT) Tuesday.

The STS-109 crew - Altman, Carey and Mission Specialists Nancy Currie, John Grunsfeld, Rick Linnehan, Mike Massimino and Jim Newman -- successfully completed the mission's objectives of servicing the Hubble Space Telescope. The upgrades and servicing by the crew leaves Hubble with a new power unit, a new camera and new solar arrays. This was the fourth shuttle mission dedicated to servicing Hubble. The next is scheduled for 2004.

STS-109 spent a total of 10 days, 22 hours and 10 minutes in space. This was Columbia's 27th flight and its first since 1999 after undergoing modifications.

See the landing groundtracks.

For an interactive view of STS-109, click here. (Requires Flash Player)

Check out Mission Specialist John Grunsfeld's Notes from Space.

Hubble Space Telescope
*STS-109 Ask the Crew Answers
*STS-109 Ask the MCC Answers
*STS-109 EVA Timeline
*Hubble Servicing Mission 3B
*Space Telescope Operations Control Center
EVAs
IMAGE: STS-109 Mission Specialist John Grunsfeld
STS-109 Mission Specialist John Grunsfeld offers a hearty thumbs-up to his crewmates near the end of the first spacewalk.

Crew Conducts Five Spacewalks
The STS-109 astronauts performed a total of five spacewalks in five consecutive days to service and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. STS-109 Mission Specialists John Grunsfeld and Richard Linnehan conducted the mission's first, third and fifth extravehicular activities, or EVAs. Mission Specialists James Newman and Michael Massimino performed the second and fourth spacewalks.

The spacewalkers received assistance from their crewmates inside Space Shuttle Columbia. Mission Specialist Nancy Currie operated the shuttle's robot arm. Commander Scott Altman was her backup. Pilot Duane Carey and Altman documented the EVA activities with video and still images.

Accomplishments of the spacewalks included the installation of new solar arrays, a new camera, a new Power Control Unit, a Reaction Wheel Assembly and an experimental cooling system for Hubble. STS-109 accumulated a total of 35 hours, 55 minutes of EVA time. Through STS-109, a total of 18 spacewalks have been conducted during the four shuttle missions to service Hubble for a total of 129 hours, 10 minutes by 14 different astronauts.

Curator: Kim Dismukes | Responsible NASA Official: John Ira Petty | Updated: 12/10/2003
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