SPACEPHOTOS

(01/28/2002) -- Space Shuttle Columbia, atop its Mobile Launcher Platform, sits on Launch Pad 39A after an early morning rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building. In the distance is seen the Atlantic Ocean. To the left is the 'White Room' that provides entry to the cockpit when extended to the orbiter. The environmentally controlled room is at the end of the Orbiter Access Arm, located 147 feet above the pad, on the Fixed Service Structure. 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. 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