Hubble Archive - Servicing Mission 3B, STS-109

Servicing Mission 3B (SM3B) Highlight ReelThe 11-day mission rejuvenated the Hubble Space Telescope in a series of five spacewalks. After grasping the telescope and pulling it into the payload bay, the spacewalkers, assisted by Mission Specialist Nancy Jane Currie operating the shuttle's robotic arm, installed new and improved equipment that gave the telescope more power, a new module to dispense the power, and a cameral able to see twice as much area, with more speed and clarity. They also installed an experimental cooling system in hope of restoring life to the Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer. Columbia performed perfectly.

STS-109 Flight Day Highlights Day 1, March 01, 2002

STS-109 Flight Day Highlights Day 2, March 02, 2002

STS-109 Flight Day Highlights Day 3-4, March 03-04, 2002Hubble Space Telescope, Space Shuttle Columbia, Servicing Mission 3B, EVA No. 1: 7 hours, 1 minute -- Mission Specialists John Grunsfeld and Rick Linnehan removed the old starboard solar array from Hubble and installed in its place a new third-generation solar array. The two spacewalkers were maneuvered around Columbia's payload bay and Hubble telescope by the shuttle's robotic arm, manipulated by Mission Specialist Nancy Currie. From the aft flight deck of Columbia, astronauts Michael Massimino and James Newman assisted the spacewalkers throughout their tasks. The old solar array was stored in Columbia's payload bay for return to Earth and evaluation of its nine-year performance.

STS-109 Flight Day Highlights Day 5-6, March 05-06, 2002EVA No. 2: 7 hours, 16 minutes -- Mission Specialists Newman and Massimino installed a new port solar array and a new Reaction Wheel Assembly on Hubble after removing the old solar array. Again, the spacewalkers used the robotic arm to get to and from the worksite. Newman and Massimino also had time to install a thermal blanket on Bay 6, door stop extensions on Bay 5, and foot restraints to prepare for the third spacewalk by Grunsfeld and Linnehan. Testing two bolts on the telescope's aft shroud doors, they determined that bottom two bolts required replacement and they completed that task. EVA No. 3: 6 hours, 48 minutes -- A water leak in Grunsfeld's spacesuit delayed the start of the third EVA. After swapping the upper portion of the suit, he and Linnehan began work to replace the original, 12-year-old Power Control Unit with a new one capable of handling the extra 20 percent of power output being generated from the newly installed solar panels.

STS-109 Flight Day Highlights Day 7, March 07, 2002EVA No. 4: 7 hours, 18 minutes -- Mission Specialists James Newman and Michael Massimino completed the first science instrument upgrade of the servicing mission by installing the Advanced Camera for Surveys -- it replaced the original Faint Object Camera. Afterward, Massimino installed the Electronic Support Module, the first part of an experimental cooling system to be installed on EVA No. 5.

STS-109 Flight Day Highlights Day 8-9, March 08-09, 2002EVA No. 5: 7 hours, 32 minutes -- On the final spacewalk, Mission Specialists Grunsfeld and Linnehan removed the NICMOS cryocooler from its carrier in the payload bay and installed it inside the aft shroud, connecting cables from the Electronics Support Module. They retrieved the Cooling System Radiator from the payload bay and installed it on the outside of Hubble. Linnehan fed the radiator wires through the bottom of the telescope to Grunsfeld, who connected them to NICMOS.

STS-109 Flight Day Highlights Day 10, March 10, 2002

STS-109 Flight Day Highlights Day 11, March 11, 2002

SM3B A Success00:44 - The Mission Begins with New And Upgraded Solar Panels Animation and B-Roll - TRT 02:4003:44 - ACS Animation and Mission B-Roll - TRT 00:53Early Release Observations: Near-Infrared Camera/Multi-Object Spectrometer 05:22 - Image of The Cone Nebula (G02-038) - TRT 00:20Early Release Observations: Near-Infrared Camera/Multi-Object Spectrometer 06:08 - Image of NGC 4013 (G02-038) - TRT 00:1506:46 - Cryocooler - A Refrigerator In Space Animation and B-Roll - TRT 01:3809:29 - HST's Evolution Animation - TRT 04:5415:05 - The Final Endeavor of a Successful Mission - TRT 00:3016:12 - HST Accomplishments - TRT 02:2719:38 - Astronauts Train - B-Roll - TRT 02:2422:23 - STOCC B-Roll - TRT 00:5623:50 - HST Operations Center B-Roll - TRT 00:2824:54 - The Release of HST - TRT 00:5726:15 - The First Servicing Mission (STS-61) - TRT 02:1428:43 - The 2nd Servicing Mission (STS-82) - TRT 04:1333:30 - The 3rd Servicing Mission (STS-103) - TRT 01:1035:03 - Interview Excerpts Preston Burch Program Manager - TRT 01:4737:11 - Interview Excerpts David Leckrone Senior Project Scientist - TRT 01:4939:16 - Interview Excerpts Edward Cheng HST Development Project Scientist - TRT 02:57

SM3B Crew TrainingIn preperation for this important mission, the crew spent years training for servicing the Hubble Space Telescope. This archive footage shows the astronauts training.