STS-109: Space Shuttle Columbia

This recording captures the on-orbit activities of the STS-109 mission, highlighting the astronauts' efforts to replace Hubble's solar arrays and the critical power control unit. Notably, John Grunsfeld and Rick Linehan perform the first spacewalk to install new solar arrays, while Grunsfeld faces a suit leak just before a pivotal third spacewalk. The crew's meticulous preparations and the urgency of their tasks underscore the mission's complexity and significance.

This recording captures the landing of Atlantis on Runway 15 at the Kennedy Space Center, occurring at 10:39 PM Central Time. Commander Steve Lindsey executed the final approach, with main gear touchdown at 10:38:55 PM and nose gear touchdown at 10:39:10 PM. The mission concluded successfully after a 5.3 million mile journey, with the crew expected to exit the orbiter approximately 30 to 35 minutes post-landing.

This highlights reel captures the third spacewalk of the mission, which began at 2:28am Central Time, featuring John Grunsfeld and Rick Linehan as they perform the first-ever power down of the Hubble Space Telescope. The recording documents the removal of the power control unit, a critical task involving the demate of 36 connectors, and the successful reestablishment of power to Hubble after 4 hours and 24 minutes. Notably, Grunsfeld's spacesuit experienced a water leak, leading to a delay in the spacewalk preparations.

This highlights reel captures the final spacewalk of the mission, where John Grunsfeld and Rick Linehan install a cryo cooling base and radiator on the Hubble Space Telescope. The recording features the opening of the aft shroud doors, the retrieval of a small piece of debris, and the successful installation of the NICMOS cryo cooler, which is an experimental device aimed at reviving the infrared instrument. Notably, Grunsfeld reflects on the mission's impact on future discoveries in astronomy.

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This highlights reel documents the first spacewalk of the mission, which began at 12:37am Central Time and lasted 7 hours and 1 minute. John Grunsfeld and Rick Linehan successfully installed the new starboard solar array on the Hubble Space Telescope, which features improved gallium arsenide solar cells. Notably, the spacewalk was completed 30 minutes ahead of schedule, and the new solar array passed its functional test, confirming its operational readiness.