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STS-109

STS-109 is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand STS-109 rather than just read about it. In short: STS-109 (Hubble Servicing Mission 3B 'SM3B') was a Space Shuttle mission that launched from the Kennedy Space Center on 1 March 2002. It was the 108th mission of the Space Shuttle program, the 27th flight of the orbiter Columbia and the fourth servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope.

STS-109 — main illustration
STS-109 — illustration

Key takeaways

  • STS-109 belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect STS-109 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of STS-109 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

STS-109 (Hubble Servicing Mission 3B 'SM3B') was a Space Shuttle mission that launched from the Kennedy Space Center on 1 March 2002. It was the 108th mission of the Space Shuttle program, the 27th flight of the orbiter Columbia and the fourth servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope. It was also the penultimate mission of the orbiter Columbia before the STS-107 mission, which was destroyed during re-entry in the Columbia disaster. The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was placed in orbit during mission STS-31 on 25 April 1990. Initially designed to operate for 15 years, plans for periodic service and refurbishment were incorporated into its mission from the start. After the successful completion of the second planned service mission (SM2) by the crew of STS-82 in February 1997, three of the telescope's six gyroscopes failed. NASA decided to split the third planned service mission into two parts, SM3A and SM3B. A fifth and final servicing mission, STS-125 (SM4) launched on 11 May 2009. The work performed during SM4 kept HST in operation through 2025.

Crew

Crew seat assignments

Spacewalks

Mission highlights

The purpose of STS-109 was to service the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). It was Columbia's first flight following an extensive two and a half year modification period (its most recent mission being STS-93). During the mission the crew installed a new science instrument, the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), new rigid solar arrays (SA3), a new Power Control Unit (PCU) and an experimental cryocooler for the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS). Columbia also reboosted HST to a higher orbit.

The STS-109 astronauts performed a total of five spacewalks in five consecutive days to service and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. The spacewalkers received assistance from their crewmates inside Columbia. Currie operated the Shuttle's robot arm while Altman was her backup. Carey and Altman documented the EVAs with video and still images. Accomplishments of the spacewalks included the installation of new solar arrays, a new camera, a new Power Control Unit, a Reaction Wheel Assembly and an experimental cooling system for the NICMOS unit. STS-109 accumulated a total of 35 hours, 55 minutes of EVA time. Following STS-109, a total of 18 spacewalks had been conducted during four Space Shuttle missions to service Hubble (the others being STS-61, STS-82, STS-103 and STS-125) for a total of 129 hours, 10 minutes by 14 different astronauts.

Columbia made its twenty-seventh and last successful landing at Kennedy Space Center, as on its next mission, STS-107, it disintegrated on re-entry, killing all aboard. STS-109 is considered a night launch, as sunrise was at 6:47 am, and Columbia launched at 6:22 am EST, 25 minutes before sunrise.

See also

List of human spaceflights List of Space Shuttle missions Outline of space science

References This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

External links

Status reports – Detailed NASA status reports for each day of the mission. NASA mission summary Archived 18 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine STS-109 reentry pictures ESA/Hubble mission summary STS-109 Video Highlights Archived 11 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine

Illustrations

STS-109 illustration
STS-109 illustration
STS-109 illustration
STS-109 illustration
STS-109: Hubble Space Telescope sporting new solar arrays during SM3B.
Hubble Space Telescope sporting new solar arrays during SM3B.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with STS-109

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what STS-109 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to STS-109 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about STS-109 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of STS-109

In research
STS-109 appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses STS-109 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
STS-109 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions, Space Shuttle missions, Spacecraft launched in 2002, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for STS-109 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study STS-109 in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what STS-109 means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain STS-109 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is STS-109 in simple terms?

STS-109 (Hubble Servicing Mission 3B 'SM3B') was a Space Shuttle mission that launched from the Kennedy Space Center on 1 March 2002. It was the 108th mission of the Space Shuttle program, the 27th flight of the orbiter Columbia and the fourth servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Why does STS-109 matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study STS-109?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on STS-109.

Tags

  • Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions
  • Space Shuttle missions
  • Spacecraft launched in 2002

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