In this distant view, STS-31 Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, is seen as it heads skyward after liftoff from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex (LC) Pad 39B at 8:33:51.0492 am (Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)). OV-103's silhouette atop the external tank (ET) appears above the glow of the solid rocket booster (SRB) and space shuttle main engine (SSME) firings. An exhaust plume trails behind and covers the launch pad area below the orbiter. A nearby waterway reflects the SRB/SSME glow in the foreground. At the far right and barely discernible is KSC LC Pad 39A and the Sound Supression Water System tower. Columbia, OV-102, is on LC Pad 39A which is separated by a distance of 1.6 miles. This was the first time since January 1986 that there was a shuttle on each pad.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – This aerial view of NASA's Kennedy Space Center shows the observation gantry, which has a clear view of Launch Pad 39B (upper left) and Launch Pad 39A (upper right). Space shuttle Endeavour is on pad 39B, prepared for liftoff in the unlikely event that a rescue mission is necessary during space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett