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Endeavor Moves Closer to KSC Launch Pad

It will be on stand-by to aid Atlantis

Apr 11, 2009 09:24 GMT  ·  By
The Endeavour space shuttle on the 39A launch pad, prior to mission STS-126, on September 19, 2008
   The Endeavour space shuttle on the 39A launch pad, prior to mission STS-126, on September 19, 2008

On May 12th, NASA plans to launch mission STS-125, during which the Atlantis space shuttle will fly the fifth and final repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Because the orbit of the observatory is very different from that of the International Space Station (ISS), if something is to go wrong, the seven-member crew will remain stranded in orbit for two weeks, after which time the shuttle will no longer be able to support life. As a result of this state of affairs, NASA has opted to also prime the Endeavor shuttle, so as to be able to mount a rescue mission if STS-125 is to fail.

On Friday, Endeavor was moved to the large Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), located at the Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The shuttle was taken out of its hangar and moved a bit closer to the launch complex, so that engineers could start priming it for a potential launch. Naturally, everyone hopes that Atlantis will never have to pass through an emergency, but officials at the agency are not about to take any chances, especially after Challenger and Columbia were lost.

If STS-125 goes according to plan, then Endeavor will not be placed back in its “garage,” but will continue to remain in the VAB, as it gets prepared for its June mission to the ISS. Scheduled for June 13th, the STS-127 mission will take off from the 39A Launch Pad, and will deliver the last 2 elements of Japan's Kibo Module to the space station. In addition, it will carry up the Spacelab Pallet-Deployable 2, as well as the Integrated Cargo Carrier-Vertical Light Deployable.

In the event that Atlantis needs assistance, it would take approximately one week to move Endeavor to the launch complex and to launch it in assistance. But, then again, Atlantis will carry two weeks’ worth of supplies and life support, so the seven members of the crew will have no problem enduring, if the issue they report does not affect the very structural integrity of the ship. NASA estimates that the risks of STS-125 going wrong are very small, but the delicate nature of the mission – namely the fact that the astronauts cannot dock on the ISS – has prompted extra precautions.