SPACEPHOTOS

(01/31/2002) - Near the bunker at the bottom of Launch Pad 39A, the STS-109 crew takes part in slidewire basket/emergency egress training. In the slidewire basket are (left to right) Commander Scott Altman and Mission Specialists Michael Massimino and Nancy Currie. The training is part of Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities that include 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. . 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