From the good idea, bad idea desk…Space shuttle moved to launch pad as rescue ship
The risk is this: If Atlantis suffers serious damage during launch or in flight, the astronauts will not be at the international space station, where they could take refuge for weeks while awaiting a ride home. They would be stranded on their spacecraft at the Hubble, where NASA estimates they could stay alive for 25 days. Air would be the first to go.
Good idea…A rescue craft, the Endeavour. Bad idea, The Atlantis…If NASA indicates “The risk is this: If Atlantis suffers serious damage during launch or in flight, the astronauts will not be at the international space station, where they could take refuge for weeks while awaiting a ride home. They would be stranded on their spacecraft at the Hubble, where NASA estimates they could stay alive for 25 days. Air would be the first to go.“….Why in the hell, would NASA send off Atlantis, only to complicate a nasty situation and risk, two spacecraft and the occupants of each?
This thinking led to the Challenger and Columbia disasters. If it is insisted, have the NASA engineers, ride each shuttle.