SPACEPHOTOS

(02/25/2002) - STS-109 Payload Commander John M. Grunsfeld gets a final fitting on his launch and entry suit two days before launch. On mission STS-109, the seven-member crew will capture the Hubble Space Telescope using the Shuttle's robotic arm and secure it on a workstand in Columbia's payload bay. Four mission specialists will perform five scheduled spacewalks to complete system upgrades to the telescope. More durable solar arrays, a large gyroscopic assembly to help point the telescope properly, a new telescope power control unit, and a cooling system to restore the use of a key infrared camera and spectrometer unit, which has been dormant since 1999, will all be installed. In addition, the telescope’s view of the Universe will be improved with the addition of the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), which replaces the Faint Object Camera, the last of Hubble's original instruments. The STS-109 crew also includes Commander Scott D. Altman, Pilot Duane G. Carey, and Mission Specialists James H. Newman, Nancy J. Currie, Richard M. Linnehan and Michael J. Massimino. Launch is scheduled for Feb. 28, 2002, at 6:48 a.m. EST (11:48 GMT)