SPACEPHOTOS

(01/31/2002) -- Near the bunker at the bottom of Launch Pad 39A, Mission Specialist Richard Linnehan steadies the slidewire basket, part of the emergency egress system from the orbiter. In the basket are Mission Specialists John Grunsfeld and James Newman and Pilot Duane Carey. The training is part of Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities that include a simulated countdown at the pad. 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