Live At KSC: NASA Preps For Rescue Countdown

NASA will start up a three-day countdown Wednesday to launch of shuttle Endeavour and a rescue crew just in case a heat shield inspection on Atlantis today turns up damage that might endanger its Hubble Space Telescope servicing crew during atmospheric reentry.

Countdown clocks at Kennedy Space Center will pick up at 6 a.m. Wednesday at the T-Minus 43 hour mark -- the standard start point for a three-day launch countdown with several build-in holds.

Four astronauts now are in quarantine at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and would fly to KSC if shuttle program managers call up a rescue mission.

External tank fuel-loading operations would start Friday night.

Veteran shuttle mission commander Chris Ferguson and his crew -- which includes pilot Eric Boe and mission specialists Stephen Bowen and Shane Kimbrough -- would blast off from launch pad 39B at 7:34 a.m. Saturday.

NASA's launch team at Kennedy and an STS-400 flight control team have been prepping for the rescue mission as if it actually will be launched.

The Atlantis astronauts just started a survey of the shuttle's port and starboard wings as well as its nose cap. The inspection is aimed at detecting any micrometeorite or space debris hits Atlantis might have sustained since a similar survey on the second day of its flight.

Back at KSC, engineers last night pressurized 24 tanks which store gases that push propellant into the shuttle's main propulsion and its orbital maneuvering system engines.

The operation was significant because it presents a safety hazard to ground operations workers. The pressure vessels could rupture with catastrophic consequences, so pad 39B has been cleared of all but essential personnel. All tours of the pad area have been temporarily halted.

Imagery and laser data beamed back from the Atlantis heat shield inspection will be analyzed overnight, and NASA's Mission Management Team will meet Wednesday to determine whether a rescue mission will be required.

If not, Endeavour will be cleared to move to pad 39A, where it is scheduled to blast off June 13 on a mission to deliver the third and final section of the Kibo science research facility to the International Space Station.

The roll-around to pad 39A will open up pad 39B for the Ares I-X test flight, which is scheduled for launch No Earlier Than Aug. 30.

ABOUT THE IMAGE: As dawn begins to brighten the sky over Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Endeavour is seen bathed in lights from the fixed service structure. Endeavour is being prepared for launch on a rescue mission in case Atlantis sustains critical damage during its ongoing Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. If no rescue mission is required, Endeavour will roll-around to pad 39A and launch June 13 on an International Space Station assembly mission.
Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis