On Monday the space shuttle Atlantis blasted off for a long-delayed mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.
On a nearby launch pad is the space shuttle Endeavour – on stand-by just in case something happens out in space to the 7-person crew.
It’s the possibility of a space rescue that MSNBC.com’s James Oberg says makes this a high-stakes mission:
“As NASA prepares for its final service call to the Hubble Space Telescope, it's also preparing for something never attempted in the history of the shuttle program: a rescue operation so dramatic that Hollywood would be hard-pressed to come up with a more outlandish plot.” (
MSNBC.com)
CNN explains why repairing Hubble matters:
“Pictures that take us to the edge of the universe, to far away galaxies, a look back at time and into black holes.” (
CNN)
Two Atlantis astronauts, Mike Massimino and Mark Polansky, will be Tweeting from outer space.
Tweets Massimino:
“I’m going to put my spacesuit on, next stop: Earth Orbit!” (
Twitter)
FloridaToday.com’s John Kelly writes that after watching 15 space shuttle launches, he still gets goosebumps when they blast-off:
“It's easy to take the shuttle for granted. We've seen it so many times here. It may start to look routine. It's not. Flight after flight, the space shuttle is one of the most amazing things men and women have ever done.” (
FloridayToday.com)
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