Posted: Mon, Dec 9, 2002, 8:02 PM ET (0102 GMT)
The space shuttle Columbia was rolled out to the launch pad Monday in preparation for launch next month. Columbia was moved out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at 7:30 am EST (1230 GMT), arriving at launch pad 39A six hours and 20 minutes later. Columbia is scheduled to lift off January 16 on mission STS-107, a 16-day non-ISS science mission. The mission, also known as FREESTAR (Fast Reaction Experiments Enabling ScienceTechnology Applications and Research), will fly more than 80 experiments ranging from earth and space sciences to health and advanced technology. The mission's seven-person crew includes Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut.

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