spacetoday.net: Columbia finally rolls out to launch pad

Columbia finally rolls out to launch pad

Posted: Tue, Jan 29, 2002, 8:55 AM ET (1355 GMT)
STS-109 rollout of Columbia to pad 39A

The space shuttle Columbia rolled out to the launch pad on Monday after crawler problems delayed the move for nearly a week. The shuttle left the Vehicle Assembly Building shortly after 6:30 am EST (1130 GMT) Monday and arrived at the pad about six hours later. The rollout had been scheduled for last Wednesday, but was delayed when the crawler transporter that hauls the shuttle to the pad malfunctioned shortly after beginning the trip. Despite the delay, Columbia is still scheduled to launch on mission STS-109, a servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, on the morning of February 28. The rollout took place on the 16th anniversary of the space shuttle Challenger tragedy.