Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

To: NorthMountain

Just curious, certainly not meaning to encourage the moon-landing-was-a-hoax crows: Why do we never hear about Van Allen belts when they describe launch timing? LIke, we hear, delay...delay...delay... oh, we have to scrub it because the weather. Never delay... delay... oops, now there’s a Van Allen belt? TBF, they DO always talk about “launch windows” without describing why they are when they are.


29 posted on 08/03/2023 7:09:19 AM PDT by dangus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies ]


To: dangus
Why do we never hear about Van Allen belts when they describe launch timing?

1) The Apollo mission controllers DID pay attention to Solar activity, which affects the thickness and intensity of the belts as well as the radiation environment farther out. A big solar flare might have delayed an Apollo launch, waiting for things to settle down. Even with that possibility, though, passage through the fringes of the outer belt would not have subjected the astronauts to a really serious radiation dose.

2) The inner belt is higher than Low Earth Orbit, where most of today's satellites go. A solar flare might delay the launch of a GEO satellite, but I've never heard of it happening.

33 posted on 08/03/2023 7:14:41 AM PDT by NorthMountain (... the right of the peopIe to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies ]

To: dangus

OBTW, we had a big solar flare a few months ago, right after a bunch of Starlink satellites got launched. The solar flare caused the ATMOSPHERE to expand slightly and dragged about half of them down out of their very low initial parking orbit.


34 posted on 08/03/2023 7:17:32 AM PDT by NorthMountain (... the right of the peopIe to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies ]

To: dangus

“Launch Window” has to do with when you can launch the rocket so the payload ends up in the right place at the right time, with minimal energy expended. Launches to the ISS are especially critical, since “the right place” is a very small moving object.


37 posted on 08/03/2023 7:20:32 AM PDT by NorthMountain (... the right of the peopIe to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson