The SM3B astronauts

Michael J. Massimino, who made his first space flight, joined three veteran astronauts, John M.Grunsfeld, James H. Newman, and Richard M. Linnehan.

Scott Altman, a two-time shuttle veteran, commanded the mission.

Pilot Duane Carey, making his first space flight and flight engineer Nancy Currie joined him on the flight deck. Currie had three previous space flights to her credit.

A group of astronauts are training with a realistic Hubble model for the upcoming tasks.