Trailing [ http://mediaarchive…photoDetail.cfm?Page ID=9012 ] a thick column of exhaust, the Space Shuttle Columbia blasted into [ http://shuttle.msfc…] the twilight morning sky on March 1, its thundering rockets [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] briefly flooding a cloud bank with the light of a false dawn. The event marked the start of the ongoing [ http://spaceflight.…index.html ] eleven day mission to upgrade [ http://sm3b.gsfc.na…] the Hubble Space Telescope [ http://hubble.gsfc.…]. Hubble's upgrades include the installation of new solar arrays and a new camera [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. Columbia's crew is [ http://sm3b.gsfc.na…shuttle-crew.html ] scheduled to complete the work today in the last of five space walks [ http://spaceflight.…flightday04/ndxpage1 .html ]. Columbia's launch also marks the first flight [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] of the oldest operating space shuttle after receiving extensive upgrades [ http://www.nasa.gov…] itself, designed to increase its capabilities for missions to low Earth orbit. The shuttle landing is expected at Kennedy Space Center on March 12.
Explanation
Trailing [ http://mediaarchive…photoDetail.cfm?Page ID=9012 ] a thick column of exhaust, the Space Shuttle Columbia blasted into [ http://shuttle.msfc…] the twilight morning sky on March 1, its thundering rockets [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] briefly flooding a cloud bank with the light of a false dawn. The event marked the start of the ongoing [ http://spaceflight.…index.html ] eleven day mission to upgrade [ http://sm3b.gsfc.na…] the Hubble Space Telescope [ http://hubble.gsfc.…]. Hubble's upgrades include the installation of new solar arrays and a new camera [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. Columbia's crew is [ http://sm3b.gsfc.na…shuttle-crew.html ] scheduled to complete the work today in the last of five space walks [ http://spaceflight.…flightday04/ndxpage1 .html ]. Columbia's launch also marks the first flight [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] of the oldest operating space shuttle after receiving extensive upgrades [ http://www.nasa.gov…] itself, designed to increase its capabilities for missions to low Earth orbit. The shuttle landing is expected at Kennedy Space Center on March 12.
