On Monday afternoon, the Space Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral, FL and rendezvous with the Hubble Telescope for the last time. With the Space Shuttle program scheduled to end in 2010, this will be the last trip to the orbital telescope. The object of the mission is to repair the telescope to extend its life through 2014. Within five years, two icons of the modern space era will be retired, making way for the next generation.
What makes this launch different, however, is that there are two shuttles fueled and prepped on the launch pads tonight. If something happens to Atlantis, the Space Shuttle Endeavour will be launched to rescue the crew and bring them back to Earth safely. Unlike launches to the International Space Station, there is no place aboard the Hubble Telescope where the astronauts can seek shelter and life support.
In case of emergency, the Endeavour will position itself above the Atlantis, and both shuttles will open their cargo bay doors. The Endeavour will extend its robotic arm to capture Atlantis, keeping the two vehicles together at a fixed distance. Then the rescue crew will perform a spacewalk to the damaged shuttle, attaching a rescue cable between them. After the crew transfers from the Atlantis to Endeavour, the rescue shuttle will detach and return home. NASA, in the mean time, will take control over Atlantis and fly her into the Pacific Ocean to avoid crashing in any inhabited areas or impact any orbiting platforms.
We wish the seven-member crew of the Atlantis the very best on their launch on Monday. Hopefully their flight and mission are both successful, and the four-member crew of the Endeavour never has to leave the ground. We have come to view these shuttle flights as “routine,” even though we have lost two vehicles and their crews over the past three decades. But as these seven astronauts will tell you, there is no such thing as routine in space travel.
Related articles:
WESH TV – “History Made: Last Time 2 Shuttles On Launch Pad”
Examiner – “Deja Vu: two shuttles on KSC launch pads prepping for missions”
Floriday Today – “Double the shuttle for Hubble trouble”
WAAY TV – “Two Shuttles Ready To Launch”
Orlando Sentinel – “Hubble: Our heavenly view of amazing space”
Associated Press – “Rescue shuttle at launch pad for Hubble trip”
CFNews 13 – “Mission To Hubble: Endeavour Ready In Case Of Space Emergency”
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