Space Shuttle Projects

On the Space Shuttle Columbia's mid deck, the STS-109 crew of seven pose for the traditional in-flight portrait. From the left (front row), are astronauts Nancy J. Currie, mission specialist; Scott D. Altman, mission commander; and Duane G. Carey, pilot. Pictured on the back row from left to right are astronauts John M. Grunsfield, payload commander; and Richard M. Lirneham, James H. Newman, and Michael J. Massimino, all mission specialists. The 108th flight overall in NASA's Space Shuttle Program, the STS-109 mission launched March 1, 2002, and lasted 10 days, 22 hours, and 11 minutes. The goal of the mission was the maintenance and upgrade of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Using Columbia's robotic arm, the telescope was captured and secured on a work stand in Columbia's payload bay where four members of the crew performed five space walks to complete system upgrades to the HST. The Marshall Space Flight Center had the responsibility for the design, development, and construction of the HST, which is the most complex and sensitive optical telescope ever made, to study the cosmos from a low-Earth orbit.