Sixteen-day window to see twin shuttles

I plan on going to KSC and get my picture taken between the two shuttles during the window of time described in the window below...

via FLORIDA TODAY Space Team Blog by SpaceTeam on 6/20/08

NASA this September will have fully assembled shuttles on both of its Kennedy Space Center launch pads for the first time since 2001 and for only the 17th time in more than a quarter-century of shuttle fleet operations.

The relatively rare sight will come after the planned Aug. 29 rollout of shuttle Atlantis to launch pad 39A in preparation for NASA's fifth and final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission.

The agency now aims to move shuttle Endeavour on Sept. 23 to pad 39B, where it will be poised to launch on a rescue mission in the unlikely event that Atlantis sustains damage that would endanger the crew during atmospheric reentry.

The rollout dates are planning dates and could change. But there should be about a 16-day window for people to see shuttles on both pads -- likely for the last time before the fleet is retired in September 2010.

The best public views would be afforded to people driving out to Playalinda Beach and those taking bus tours offered by the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

You can see a list that details all previous instances when shuttles were perched on both pads by clicking HERE.

In the wake of the February 2003 Columbia accident, NASA decided a second shuttle always should be ready to roll out for a rescue mission should one of its winged orbiters sustain critical damage during a nine-minute climb into space or orbital operations.

Shuttle crews typically would seek safe haven on the International Space Station and remain there up to three months until a second shuttle could be rolled out to pad 39B and launched with a rescue crew.

But the Hubble telescope is in an entirely different orbit, so its crew would not have enough fuel to reach the station in the event of an emergency. A rescue mission would have to be launched within weeks rather than months. So the second shuttle in this case must already be on pad 39B in order to carry out a rescue mission in a timely enough manner to save the Atlantis crew.

- Todd Halvorson

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