STS-103, the 96th launch of the Space Shuttle and the 27th launch of Space Shuttle Discovery, was a Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. It launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 19 December 1999 and returned on 27 December 1999 and was the last Shuttle mission of the 1990s. It was the only mission to span through Christmas after being delayed by 13 days for technical and weather reasons.
Grunsfeld and Smith replacing gyroscopes on Hubble during the mission's first EVA
Left to right; C. Michael Foale, Claude Nicollier, Scott J. Kelly, Curtis L. Brown Jr., Jean-Francois Clervoy, John M. Grunsfeld and Steven L. SmithSpace Shuttle program← STS-93 (95)STS-99 (97) →
STS-103 launch
Space Shuttle Discovery is a retired American spacecraft. The spaceplane was one of the orbiters from NASA's Space Shuttle program and the third of five fully operational orbiters to be built. Its first mission, STS-41-D, flew from August 30 to September 5, 1984. Over 27 years of service it launched and landed 39 times, aggregating more spaceflights than any other spacecraft to date. The Space Shuttle launch vehicle had three main components: the Space Shuttle orbiter, a single-use central fuel tank, and two reusable solid rocket boosters. Nearly 25,000 heat-resistant tiles cover the orbiter to protect it from high temperatures on re-entry.
Discovery in orbit in 2011, during STS-133, the orbiter's final flight
Space Shuttle Discovery at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Discovery rollout ceremony in October 1983
On the maiden voyage of Discovery: Judith Resnik, Henry Hartsfield, Michael L. Coats, Steven A. Hawley, Charles D. Walker, and Richard M. Mullane
