Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
MAKO69

T minus 20 min. STS 135 Closing out the White Room

Recommended Posts


Lift off for Space Shuttle Atlantis. Good luck and good landing.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Wasn't that great to watch from the ground. Stupid clouds covered it after about 30 seconds, just like the previous one. Oh well.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Wasn't that great to watch from the ground. Stupid clouds covered it after about 30 seconds, just like the previous one. Oh well.

 

I agree about the clouds. With Florida's crappy weather, I often wonder why Vandenburg was never upgraded to launch the Shuttle. How many delays or how much damage have been caused by storms? SoCal weather is much better.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Polar launches aren't very useful for most things. I think the populations of CA and NV would also object to boosters being dropped on them. :grin:

Due to the Earth's rotation, it's most useful to launch to the east, over water. The ideal location is on the equator, and that's what Sea Launch does, sailing out to the middle of the Pacific at 0 latitude to launch rockets and get max payload for the minimum thrust.

 

As for storm damage, not much. It's all built to take hurricanes, so only tornados do anything. There have been numerous delays due to weather, but more due to over-cautiousness than anything else.

If the shuttle had to abort back to KSC (something that was considered highly dangerous if necessary), the winds at the SLF couldn't be past a certain amount cross-wind (I don't recall the number). If a rocket explodes at low altitude (a few thousand feet) when the wind off the ocean is blowing a certain way and colliding with wind blowing from the west overland (which causes the storms on the east coast regularly, oddly it doesn't really happen on the west coast) there is risk of a cloud of deadly chemicals blowing over Merritt Island and killing thousands.

 

On the flip side, I'd hate to see an earthquake hit as a launch was just prepping when all the gantries have swung back!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

As closer you are to the equator you can bring larger payloads into the orbit. The Soyuz carrier can lift 7 tons from Baikonour, but when they will start it from Kourou (european Ariana launch base in french Guyana) the can bring more then 8 tons into the sky.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue..