WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

In the Operations and Checkout Building, the STS-103 crew are all smiles as they gather for breakfast before suiting up for launch. From left are Mission Specialists Claude Nicollier of Switzerland and C. Michael Foale (Ph.D.), Pilot Scott J. Kelly, Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., and Mission Specialists Jean-Francois Clervoy of France, John M. Grunsfeld (Ph.D.) and Steven L. Smith. Nicollier and Clervoy are with the European Space Agency. The STS-103 mission, to service the Hubble Space Telescope, is scheduled for launch Dec. 17 at 8:47 p.m. EST from Launch Pad 39B. Mission objectives include replacing gyroscopes and an old computer, installing another solid state recorder, and replacing damaged insulation in the telescope. The mission is expected to last about 8 days and 21 hours. Discovery is expected to land at KSC Sunday, Dec. 26, at about 6:30 p.m. EST.