[BRPORSCHE]

An interesting picture indeed Thom. The only reason why there are two shuttles on lauchpads simultaneously is for the mission to the Hubble telescope I think on oct 10.

Due to the high altitude that Hubble orbits Earth at, the chances of Atlantis being struck by a micrometeroid or 'space junk' is far greater then if it were parked at the ISS in LEO. If Atlantis were to sustain critical damage during the mission, Endeavor would launch with four astronauts on board to rescue the seven onboard Atlantis. A Shuttle life support systems can only run up to 25 days in space, they would run out of oxygen first, so instead of being able to stay at the ISS for up to two months if Atlantis was crippled, Endeavor would have to launch immediatley to rescue the fellow astronauts.