On a Roll
Shortly before midnight, space shuttle Endeavour leaves the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, traveling at less than 1 mph atop a massive crawler-transporter for the 4.2-mile journey to Launch Pad 39B. For the first time since July 2001, two shuttles are on the launch pads at the same time at the center. Endeavour will stand by in the unlikely event that a rescue mission is necessary during space shuttle Atlantis' upcoming mission to repair NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. After Endeavour is cleared from its duty as a rescue spacecraft, it will be moved to Launch Pad 39A for the STS-126 mission to the International Space Station.
Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
Sept. 19, 2008