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Ready For Emergency Blastoff

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 20, 2008

CAPE CANAVERAL - In an unprecedented step, a second space shuttle was moved to the launchpad Friday for a trip NASA hopes it will never make: a rescue mission.

The shuttle Endeavour is on standby in case the seven astronauts who go up on Atlantis next month need a safer ride home.
Atlantis and its crew are headed into space for one last repair job on the Hubble Space Telescope, in orbit for 18 years. It's a venture that was canceled when first proposed a few years ago because it was considered too dangerous.

If Atlantis suffers serious damage during launch or in flight, the astronauts will not be near the International Space Station, where they could take refuge while awaiting a ride home. They would be stranded at the Hubble, where NASA estimates they could stay alive for 25 days.

The Associated Press

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