![]() The Hubble Space Telescope in Columbia's payload bay towards the end of the mission | |
Names | Space Transportation System-109 |
---|---|
Mission type | Hubble servicing |
Operator | NASA |
COSPAR ID | 2002-010A |
SATCAT no. | 27388 |
Mission duration | 10 days, 22 hours, 11 minutes, 09 seconds |
Distance travelled | 6,300,000 kilometres (3,900,000 mi) |
Orbits completed | 165 |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft | Space Shuttle Columbia |
Launch mass | 116,989 kg (257,917 lb) |
Landing mass | 100,564 kg (221,706 lb) |
Crew | |
Crew size | 7 |
Members | |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 1 March 2002 11:22:02 | UTC
Launch site | Kennedy, LC-39A |
End of mission | |
Landing date | 12 March 2002 09:33:10 | UTC
Landing site | Kennedy, SLF Runway 33 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric |
Regime | Low Earth |
Perigee altitude | 486 km (302 mi) |
Apogee altitude | 578 km (359 mi) |
Inclination | 28.5 degrees |
Period | 95.3 minutes |
![]() ![]() (L-R): Michael J. Massimino, Richard M. Linnehan, Duane G. Carey, Scott D. Altman, Nancy J. Currie, John M. Grunsfeld and James H. Newman. |
STS-109 (SM3B) was a Space Shuttle mission that launched from the Kennedy Space Center on 1 March 2002. It was the 108th mission of the Space Shuttle program,[1] the 27th flight of the orbiter Columbia[1] and the fourth servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope.[2] It was also the last successful mission of the orbiter Columbia before the ill-fated STS-107 mission, which culminated in the Columbia disaster.
The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was placed in orbit during mission STS-31 on 25 April 1990.[3] Initially designed to operate for 15 years, plans for periodic service and refurbishment were incorporated into its mission from the start.[4] After the successful completion of the second planned service mission (SM2) by the crew of STS-82 in February 1997, three of the telescope's six gyroscopes failed. NASA decided to split the third planned service mission into two parts, SM3A and SM3B.[5] A fifth and final servicing mission, STS-125 (SM4) launched on 11 May 2009.[6] The work performed during SM4 kept HST in operation through 2021.[7]