Hearsay Is Out Of This World

OK ... so Hearsay has been to some pretty cool places in the last few months, but this installment pretty much takes the cake. Here, our intrepid traveler has made his way to the Space Shuttle Launch Pad B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Shuttle Endeavor is currently on the pad, being readied for a potential rescue mission if something goes amiss with the next scheduled launch slated for Oct. 14.

This is Hearsay at the base of what's known as the External Tank (the rust-colored tank in the middle) and the Solid Rocket Boosters that would launch Endeavor into space. There wouldn't be much of Hearsay left if he happened to be in this spot during an actual liftoff.

Next, Hearsay is shown just outside the launch pad elevators, at the 255-foot level ...

That leads to this view, of the very top of the External Tank and the Florida coastline ...

Finally, Hearsay winds up just outside Endeavor itself, and is shown here in front of the spacecraft's Forward Reaction Control System (FRCS).

Here's an overall view of the two Shuttles standing ready for flight. It's only the third time in the program's history that two Shuttles have been on their respective launch pads at the same time. The pad that Hearsay visited is the one farthest from the camera (Photo Credit: NASA).