(03/01/2002) - At liftoff of Space Shuttle Columbia, a torrent of water begins to flow from rainbirds (at bottom left and right) onto the Mobile Launcher Platform to help with sound suppression. Acoustical levels reach their peak when the Space Shuttle is about 300 feet above the MLP. There are six 12-foot rainbirds mounted on the MLP. Liftoff of Columbia on mission STS-109 occurred at 6:22:02:08 a.m. EST (11:22:02:08 GMT). This was the 27th flight of the vehicle and 108th in the history of the Shuttle program. The goal of the mission is the maintenance and upgrade of the Hubble Space Telescope, to be carried out in five spacewalks. The crew comprises Commander Scott D. Altman, Pilot Duane G. Carey, Payload Commander John M. Grunsfeld, and Mission Specialists Nancy Jane Currie, Richard M. Linnehan, James H. Newman and Michael J. Massimino. After the 11-day mission, Columbia is expected to return to KSC March 12 about 4:35 a.m. EST (09:35 GMT)