KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- After leaving the Orbiter Processing Facility, orbiter Columbia rolls toward the Vehicle Assembly Building where it will be mated with the external tank-solid rocket booster stack. Columbia is scheduled to be launched Feb. 28 on mission STS-109, a Hubble Servicing Mission. The goal of the mission is to service the HST, replacing Solar Array 2 with Solar Array 3, replacing the Power Control Unit, removing the Faint Object Camera and installing the ACS, installing the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) Cooling System, and installing New Outer Blanket Layer insulation
Location Kennedy Space Center, FL
Date January 16, 2002