Looking ahead

Looking Ahead: News to watch in the weeks to come | The Editors

Town Hall debate

October 7: Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain will have his chance to engage Democratic contender Sen. Barack Obama in the Arizona senator's preferred format: the town hall debate. NBC's Tom Brokaw will moderate the event at Belmont University in Nashville exactly four weeks before Americans head to the polls to select the next president.

Atlantis takes off

October 10: When the Space Shuttle Atlantis blasts off on Oct. 10 to service the Hubble Space Telescope for the final time, it will also be the last time space shuttles will occupy both launch pads at one time. Because of Hubble's orbital positioning, Atlantis will be unable to retreat to the International Space Station in case of emergency. Therefore, NASA will have the Space Shuttle Endeavor on emergency stand-by throughout the mission in case it needs to stage a rescue.