KSC-2009-2758

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. –– As dawn begins to brighten the sky over Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Endeavour is seen bathed in lights from the fixed service structure. Endeavour joins Atlantis, which is on Launch Pad 39A. The towers around the launch pad were erected for NASA's Constellation Program, which will use the pad for Ares rocket launches. With the space shuttle fleet set for retirement in 2010, this is expected to be the final time two shuttles will be on launch pads at the same time. Endeavour will be prepared on the pad for liftoff in the unlikely event that a rescue mission is necessary following space shuttle Atlantis' launch on the STS-125 mission to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. After Atlantis is cleared to land, Endeavour will move to Launch Pad 39A for its upcoming STS-127 mission to the International Space Station, targeted to launch June 13. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis