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. On the left is the Rotating Service Structure, which will swing counterclockwise to enclose the Shuttle and enable final preparations, including transfer of the payload. Atop the Fixed Service Structure (center) is the lightning mast, 347 feet above the pad. The 80-foot fiberglass mast provides protection from lightning strikes. 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