STS-109 Flight Day 6 Highlights

On the sixth flight day of the STS-109 mission, the crewmembers of the Columbia Orbiter (Commander Scott Altman, Pilot Duane Carey, Payload Commander John Grunsfeld, and Mission Specialists Nancy Currie, James Newman, Richard Linnehan, and Michael Massimino) are shown in selected footage of their servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The third of five extravehicular activities (EVA) is performed in which Linnehan and Grunsfeld replaced the HST's Power Control Unit (PCU). The astronauts' egress from the Orbiter was delayed after water was found in Grunsfeld's suit. The removal of the old unit was particularly difficult, given the difficulty of demating the PCU's 36 connectors encumbered by the heavy gloves of the astronaut's suit. During this space walk, the HST was powered down to a completely dormant state for the first time since its launch in 1990. Following the successful installation of the new PCU, the HST's power was restarted by engineers at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). There had been some concern about the telescope's possible failure to restart, but everything went smoothly.