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For reports from Launch Day (March 1st) through the last EVA (March 8th), see
Part 2 of our Mission Journal.
For reports from Hubble release to landing, see Part 3.
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28 February 2002 - Everything is back
on track for tomorrow,
after yesterday's
delay - the first
one ever due to cold
weather.
NASA reports:
Cold Weather Forces STS-109 Launch Delay
Following a 24-hour postponement, Columbia is on track for a Friday
morning launch at 5:22 Central Time [6:22AM EST/1122 GMT March 1st].
Preliminary weather forecasts for Friday's launch show a 70 per
cent probability of acceptable weather conditions, with temperatures in
the mid 50's and northeast winds.
The STS-109 astronauts will wake up about 7:30 p.m. central time
today to begin preparations for Friday's early morning launch. They are
scheduled to depart for the launch pad shortly after 1:30 a.m. Friday
[2:30AM EST/0630 GMT].
NASA engineers approved the use of wheel bearings which were not
manufactured up to spec, saying that the landing-gear parts (which were
supposed to be heat-treated to withstand 500 degrees, but only treated to
360 degrees) can be used after all, since no Shuttle landing
yet has caused the bearings
to exceed 200 degrees.
Launch is at 6:22AM
EST tomorrow. Check the play-by-play links in the right-hand column for live coverage,
check NASA's
webcams, or watch live video on NASA TV!
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27 February 2002 - Evening Update - Columbia's liftoff
has been pushed
back from Thursday to Friday, when weather conditions should be in the 80%
acceptable range.
NASA reports:
Cold Weather Forces 24-Hour Launch Delay for Columbia
The threat of cold weather at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., has forced
shuttle managers to delay the launch of STS-109 by 24 hours. Space Shuttle
Columbia and its seven-member crew are now scheduled to lift off at 5:22
a.m. CST [6:22AM EST/1122 GMT] Friday.
Managers determined that Thursday's forecasted launch-time temperature, 3.3
degrees Celsius (38 degrees Fahrenheit), was at the margin of the acceptable limit
in combination with the predicted wind speed and relative humidity. Friday
morning's forecast calls for warmer temperatures at the time of launch.
There is a new concern besides the weather. The wheel
bearings in Columbia's landing gear are supposed to be heat-treated to
withstand a temperature of 500 degrees on landing, but records show that
some of the ones installed were only tested to 300 degrees. If engineers to
not clear the new bearings for flight, they will have to be swapped out -
and that means a rollback to the Vehicle Assembly Building, and a long
launch delay.
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27 February 2002 - SCRUB! Predicted low temperatures at
the launch complex have prompted NASA managers to
postpone tomorrow's launch
until Friday morning.
NASA reports:
Shuttle Launch Scrubbed for 24 Hours
NASA managers decided Wednesday to delay the launch of Space Shuttle
mission STS-109 until Friday because of weather. The combination of
expected low temperatures, winds and humidity would have pushed the launch
environment to the limit of safe conditions. Friday's launch attempt is
set for [6:22AM EST/1122 GMT].
The flight will be the fourth Hubble
Space Telescope servicing mission. During this 11-day mission the crew
will take five walks in space. They will add the Advanced Camera for
Surveys to Hubble’s complement of scientific instruments, enhancing the
telescope's imaging capability by a factor of 10. They will also replace
the solar arrays with a more efficient model. Liftoff will be carried live
on NASA Television and NASA
TV on the Web.
Cryogenic loading of the large external tank was scheduled to start
shortly before 10PM EST today.
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26 February 2002 - The countdown continues, but
weather
at KSC is
still a concern.
NASA reports:
Final
Mission Preparations for Shuttle Crew
Additional inspections and fuel cell servicing continue on Space Shuttle
Columbia as the countdown continues toward a planned launch of STS-109 on
Thursday morning.
The shuttle
crewmembers, now at Kennedy Space Center, are adjusting to their new
shifts, undergoing medical checks and performing final mission
preparations. The shuttle commander and pilot practiced their flying
skills making a 1˝ hour flight aboard the Shuttle Training Aircraft.
With the
weather expected to be cold with scattered clouds, forecasters are now
predicting a 60 percent chance for a Thursday launch of the STS-109 Hubble
Servicing Mission.
This flight
marks the return of Columbia to the Orbiter fleet after a long overhaul. Of
the four-ship fleet, Columbia is the heaviest, and has been unable to reach
a high-enough orbit to travel to the International Space Station up to now -
but the improvements made at Boeing's Palmdale, CA facility may allow limited
missions to the Station. For now, Columbia, the oldest (but in many ways
the newest) will stay closer to home with science
missions and flights like Hubble
Servicing. With 5
EVAs planned (including a risky power-down
of the HST), STS-109 promises to be an exciting
mission.
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25 February 2002 - Evening Update - The countdown
to Thursday morning's launch
began today
at 10AM EST (1500
GMT). Shuttle Columbia
will lift
off to the first non-ISS flight in 2
years, to upgrade
the Hubble
Space Telescope's cameras
and electrical systems. NASA reports:
Launch
Countdown Begins
The STS-109 crewmembers arrived at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., about
midnight Monday and inspected the Hubble payloads a final time before
launch. The launch countdown also began at the T minus 43-hour mark at 9
a.m. CST (1500 GMT) with Columbia and its seven-member crew targeted to
lift off at 5:48 a.m. CST [6:48AM EST/1148 GMT] Thursday.
Launch preparations are ongoing as workers ready Columbia for loading
of cryogenic reactants into the fuel cell storage tanks, activation of
communication systems and filling the external tank with liquid oxygen and
liquid hydrogen propellants.
On Thursday, forecasters are predicting a 70 percent chance
of favorable weather for launch.
NASA's
Shuttle Orbiter Columbia Ready for Next Historic Mission
NASA's Space Shuttle Columbia is poised for its return to flight
on the STS-109 mission after undergoing 2˝ years of comprehensive
maintenance, modification and processing operations that have made
the senior partner in the Shuttle fleet young again and more
versatile and safer than ever.
Weather looks OK for Thursday - but early morning cold
temperatures may violate launch safety
rules. More pre-launch
photos are up at KSC.
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25 February 2002 - Shuttle Columbia (fresh from a 30-month refit
at the Boeing
plant) awaits the start of the countdown clock.
NASA reports:
Countdown for Hubble Servicing Mission Begins Today
 Preparations
for the launch of STS-109, the fourth
Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission, continue at the Kennedy
Space Center, Fla. Flying aboard the newly
refurbished Shuttle Columbia, the astronauts will perform five
spacewalks to fit the telescope with the latest high performance
equipment. The biggest improvement will be the installation of the
Advanced Camera for Surveys. It will effectively increase Hubble's
discovery efficiency by 10 times. Hubble will also receive a new look with
its smaller, rigid solar arrays.
The seven-member crew
arrived at Kennedy early this morning in preparation for lift off,
scheduled for 6:48 a.m. EST (1148 GMT) Thursday.
Columbia's STS-109 mission,
which will include five
spacewalks, is to upgrade components of the
Hubble Space
Telescope, to
give it expanded
capabilities in observing the universe.
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