In a move that seems straight out of Hollywood, NASA is readying two space shuttles at the same time so that one can serve as the other’s lifeboat should trouble develop on next month’s service call to the Hubble Space Telescope.
Not since July 2001, when NASA was launching missions at a quicker pace, have shuttles occupied both launch pads at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center simultaneously. While Atlantis, whose seven astronauts will service Hubble for the fourth and final time, is scheduled to launch from pad 39A on October 8, an empty Endeavour waits on 39B for the call NASA hopes never comes. In the unlikely event that Atlantis is too damaged to return home safely—Columbia and its crew were lost during entry in 2003 due to a hole in the orbiter’s wing—Endeavour’s four astronauts would rendezvous with the crippled vehicle in orbit and rescue its crew of seven.
“This is not a flight that we think will ever fly, but the program requires that we have a capability to rescue that crew,” says Kyle Herring, a spokesman at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. If Endeavour is not needed for the rescue, it will be moved to pad 39A for its scheduled November 7 launch to resupply the International Space Station.
The rescue mission—officially designated STS-400—would happen only if in-orbit inspection of Atlantis shows that the vehicle can’t make it home safely. Even then, the rescue attempt would come only after the Atlantis crew finishes its work at Hubble, which involves five spacewalks to replace and upgrade hardware. On that STS-125 crew are commander Scott Altman, pilot Gregory Johnson, and mission specialists Andrew Feustel, Michael Good, John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino, and Megan McArthur. Three of the astronauts—Altman, Johnson, and McArthur, the robot arm operator—have never done a spacewalk. But the entire crew has trained for the emergency rescue, which would require them to put on a spacesuit, go outside, and move to the other vehicle.
NASA has had a “launch on need” rescue capability for shuttle missions since the Columbia disaster, and the agency will continue the policy of having this arrangement as long as the shuttles keep flying. But until now, all post-Columbia missions have been to the space station, where a stranded crew could stay for up to three months—plenty of time for NASA to send another shuttle to dock with the station and bring them home. Atlantis, on the other hand, is going nowhere near the station. And without that safe haven, its crew would have power and oxygen for only about 25 days in orbit should something go wrong. Hence the need to have Endeavour primed and ready to launch.
If STS-400 were to happen, here’s how the shuttle-to-shuttle rendezvous and transfer of astronauts would go:
The rescue begins with the launch of Endeavour and four astronauts, all of whom flew together on the STS-123 mission to the space station last March. The designated commander of STS-400 is four-time astronaut Dominic Gorie, with Greg Johnson as his pilot and Robert Behnken and Mike Foreman as mission specialists.
About 23 hours into the flight, after rendezvousing with the stranded shuttle in orbit, Johnson uses Endeavour’s 50-foot-long robotic arm to grapple a fixture on the forward, right side of Atlantis’ cargo bay, near the airlock. At this point, the shuttles are perpendicular to each other, about 35 feet apart.


So...what happens if Endeavour is unable to make it back to Earth? Obviously, the chances of that happening are ridiculous. But still...what if?
Posted by Chris on September 19,2008 | 10:29AM
Chris, I'm sure the Russians and the Chinese would volunteer to do a rescue ... for a fee. Seriously though, there is a third Shuttle available if required. I'm sure the Shuttle return-to-orbit turnaround time would be extremely rapid to keep within the 25-day survival window. Basically, there are other rescue options available if required. I'm actually looking forward to the two Shuttles posed in launch configuration. A perfect photo op.
Posted by GIF on September 21,2008 | 09:23PM
. STOP the Hubble Servicing Mission 4 now!!! It's TOO dangerous!!! There's no ISS "safe haven" near the Hubble!!! Do you want TWO Shuttles and 11 astronauts LOST in space??? It could be THE END of the Shuttle program and (perhaps) THE END of all manned space program for LONG, LONG time!!! There are SEVERAL (much safer!!!) ways to upgrade the Hubble WITHOUT risk to lose 11 astronauts lives and make 11 widow(er)s and 20+ orphans!!! http://www.ghostnasa.com/hubbledeathtrap.jpg .
Posted by ghostNASA on September 23,2008 | 04:54AM
It is unthinkable that this is the last service call to the Hubble Space Telescope. With what will it be replaced? Frankly, it must NEVER be replaced. However, adding a new telescope with increased capability would be a welcome and complimentary addition to optical deep space exploration.
Posted by Stephen Bogdan on September 30,2008 | 08:38PM