Two Space Shuttles on Neighboring Launch Pads
Fri, 17 Apr 2009 08:24:17 AM EDT
This morning at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida space shuttle Endeavour completed its 4.2-mile trek from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B. Endeavour was secured to the pad at 7:17 a.m. EDT. With Atlantis on nearby Launch Pad 39A, this marks the final time that two shuttles will be on the launch pads at the same time, as the shuttle program draws to a close next year.
Atlantis is targeted for launch in less than a month, when its crew will begin the STS-125 mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Atlantis and crew are targeted for liftoff May 12 at 1:31 p.m. EDT. The STS-125 payload is set to arrive at the launch pad Saturday evening.
Prior to its STS-127 mission to the International Space Station, Endeavour will remain on standby at the launch pad in the unlikely event that a rescue mission for the Atlantis crew members would be necessary during their mission. After Endeavour is cleared from its duty as a rescue spacecraft, workers will move it to Launch Pad 39A in preparation for its targeted liftoff June 13 at 7:19 a.m. EDT.
Today at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, STS-125 astronauts Mike Massimino and Michael Good prepare for the mission's second spacewalk by conducting their final training run in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab's pool.
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