STS-103

STS-103
Askeuhd · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Mission name	STS-103
Launch date	December 19, 1999
Launch site	Kennedy Space Center, LC-39B
Landing date	December 27, 1999
Landing site	Kennedy Space Center, Shuttle Landing Facility
Mission duration	7 days, 23 hours, 10 minutes, 47 seconds
Spacecraft	Space Shuttle Discovery
Orbit altitude	609 kilometers
Orbit inclination	28.45 degrees

STS-103 was a NASA Space Shuttle servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Launched aboard Space Shuttle Discovery in December 1999, it was the third mission dedicated to the maintenance and upgrade of the orbiting observatory. The flight successfully replaced critical components and installed new scientific instruments, restoring the telescope to full operational capability.

Mission overview

The primary objective for this mission was to perform essential servicing on the Hubble Space Telescope after a series of hardware failures threatened its scientific output. Managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and Johnson Space Center, the flight was accelerated from its original 2000 schedule. The orbiter Space Shuttle Discovery launched from Kennedy Space Center's LC-39B and achieved an orbital altitude matching the telescope's. Key goals included replacing all six gyroscopes, a Fine Guidance Sensor, and the telescope's main computer, alongside installing a new Voltage/Temperature Improvement Kit.

Crew

The seven-person crew was commanded by veteran astronaut Curtis Brown, with Scott J. Kelly serving as the pilot. The mission specialists, responsible for the complex extravehicular activity tasks, were Steven L. Smith, John M. Grunsfeld, Michael Foale, and Claude Nicollier of the European Space Agency. The flight engineer role was filled by Jean-François Clervoy, also representing the European Space Agency. This experienced team included several astronauts who had previously flown on Space Shuttle missions and would go on to command future flights to the International Space Station.

Mission highlights

Following a flawless launch, the crew used the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System to capture the Hubble Space Telescope and secure it in Discovery's payload bay. The mission featured three extravehicular activity sessions, conducted by pairs of astronauts. The first spacewalk, performed by Steven L. Smith and John M. Grunsfeld, focused on replacing the telescope's failing gyroscopes. Subsequent excursions by Michael Foale and Claude Nicollier, and again by Smith and Grunsfeld, successfully installed a new advanced computer, a Fine Guidance Sensor, and other hardware. The crew also replaced a S-band transmitter and installed new thermal insulation blankets.

Hubble Space Telescope servicing

The servicing tasks were critical to extending the scientific life of the Hubble Space Telescope. The replacement of all six gyroscopes restored the observatory's precise pointing ability, which had been degraded. The new NASA Standard Spacecraft Computer, which was significantly faster and had more memory, improved data processing. Astronauts installed the Fine Guidance Sensor to aid in astronomical measurements and attached the Voltage/Temperature Improvement Kit to protect the telescope's batteries. These upgrades, coordinated by teams at the Space Telescope Science Institute, prepared Hubble for continued observations of phenomena like supernovae and planetary nebulae.

Post-mission

After releasing the refurbished Hubble Space Telescope back into orbit, the crew of Space Shuttle Discovery spent a day stowing equipment before preparing for re-entry. The orbiter landed successfully at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center. The mission was declared a complete success, having accomplished all planned objectives. The upgrades performed during the flight ensured the telescope's functionality for several more years, leading directly to subsequent servicing missions like STS-109 and STS-125. The scientific data returned post-servicing contributed significantly to fields such as physical cosmology and extragalactic astronomy.

Category:Space Shuttle missions Category:Hubble Space Telescope