02-June-2008, 09:02 PM
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Vulcan Moderator
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Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Greenbelt, MD
Posts: 24,224
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2 shuttles to be on pads
Quote:
Atlantis and Endeavour are on track for the planned October launch of a Hubble Space Telescope repair mission, and people here are gearing up for a rare sight.
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"It'll be the first time in quite some time that we've had a vehicle on each pad simultaneously, so we're looking forward to that," NASA Launch Director Mike Leinbach said Saturday.
Atlantis will be rolled out to Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A, where seven astronauts will blast off on a mission to service the Hubble telescope.
The telescope repair crew will not be able to seek safe haven on the International Space Station if Atlantis sustains serious damage in flight. Hubble is in a different orbit, and Atlantis couldn't reach the outpost in an emergency.
NASA consequently will roll sister ship Endeavour out to Launch Complex 39B, where the orbiter will be ready to launch on a rescue mission if need be.
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