U.S. space shuttle Endeavor moved to launch pad as rescue ship

2008-09-26 11:34:07 [ Big Normal Small ]    　Comment

The Space Shuttle Endeavour is seen from cameras aboard the International Space Station as the crews aboard the two spacecraft prepare for docking in the image obtained from NASA TV March 12, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. space shuttle Endeavor was moved to its seaside launch pad in Florida early Friday to serve as a rescue ship for its sister ship Atlantis' Hubble service mission next month.

Endeavor left Kennedy Space Center's vehicle assembly building at midnight, traveling at less than 1.6 km per hour atop a massive crawler-transporter. It settled down at Launch Pad 39B before sunrise on Friday, NASA reported Friday morning.

Space Shuttle Atlantis has been there on Launch Pad 39A. This is the first time since July 2001 that both shuttles are on the launch pads at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

The space shuttle Endeavour lifts off on Mission STS-123 at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida March 11, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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Endeavor will stand by at pad B in the unlikely event that a rescue mission is necessary during Atlantis' upcoming mission to repair NASA's Hubble space telescope.

Atlantis and its seven astronauts are set to blast off on Oct. 10.

Unlike recent missions to the International Space Station, where shuttle crew had the option of awaiting rescue aboard the outpost if their spacecraft suffered critical heat shield damage, Atlantis astronauts have no such safety haven because they must fly higher and in a different orbit than the station to reach Hubble.

NASA decided to have Endeavor stand by in the unlikely event that Atlantis is unable to return to Earth. Under such circumstance, Endeavor would lift off and rendezvous with Atlantis to retrieve the astronauts.

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