SPACEPHOTOS

(11/16/1999) --- As part of Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities, the STS-103 crew inspect the 'white room,' an environmentally controlled chamber at the end of the orbiter access arm through which the crew enters the orbiter. Standing from left to right are Mission Specialists C. Michael Foale (Ph.D.), Claude Nicollier of Switzerland, Jean-François Clervoy of France, John M. Grunsfeld (Ph.D.), Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Mission Specialist Steven L. Smith, and Pilot Scott J. Kelly. Clervoy and Nicollier are with the European Space Agency. The TCDT provides the crew with the emergency egress training, opportunities to inspect their mission payloads in the orbiter's payload bay, and simulated countdown exercises. STS-103 is a 'call-up' mission due to the need to replace and repair portions of the Hubble Space Telescope, including the gyroscopes that allow the telescope to point at stars, galaxies and planets. The STS-103 crew will be replacing a Fine Guidance Sensor, an older computer with a new enhanced model, an older data tape recorder with a solid-state digital recorder, a failed spare transmitter with a new one, and degraded insulation on the telescope with new thermal insulation. The crew will also install a Battery Voltage/Temperature Improvement Kit to protect the spacecraft batteries from overcharging and overheating when the telescope goes into a safe mode. Four EVA's are planned to make the necessary repairs and replacements on the telescope. The mission is targeted for launch Dec. 6 at 2:37 a.m. EST