They would much prefer to land at KSC because that is where the shuttle lives. If they land elsewhere - they would need to somehow transport the shuttle back to KSC. This wastes time and $$ - which they are being much more careful of these days.
Posted on 08/07/2005 4:25:15 PM PDT by KevinDavis
Should have been somewhere on the Gulf of Mexico between Harlingen and Kingsville, TX. Closer to the equator than Cape Canaveral, still would have lots of water to the east in case of launch problems, and just 28 inches of rain a year instead of 52 inches.
;o)
They would much prefer to land at KSC because that is where the shuttle lives. If they land elsewhere - they would need to somehow transport the shuttle back to KSC. This wastes time and $$ - which they are being much more careful of these days.
Saw the piggy-back shuttle in a low flyover many years ago.
That is an incredible sight to behold.
When it takes off from around here, they usually do a lap or two over the valley, so as many folks can get a good look as possible. If Discovery lands at Edwards I'll get to see it, definitely hear it, and even listen to the scanner traffic. So, that's what I'm hoping for. I'm selfish like that. :-)
Turning green with envy if they land at Edwards AFB.
I have ofter thought of that.
I'd bet the decision has already been made.
Money? Who cares about money? Just raise the taxes a bit and they can cover everything.
Aw, heck...they can land the thing in L.A. :)
They need an east-coast location that typically doesn't get too cold, so it's pretty much the only place. At least that's my understanding.
Why east coast?
They have to launch from the east coast because it's a low-inclination orbit, and the required trajectory is too shallow and they don't want it going over cities. (Vandenberg is fine for the high-inclination launches).
From the History of Cape Canaveral:
Cape Canaveral was chosen for rocket launches to take advantage of the earth's rotation. At the equator, the centrifugal force of earth's rotation is the maximum. The direction of earth's rotation is such that to take advantage of the rotation, rockets should be launched eastward. It is also highly desirable to have the downrange area sparsely populated, ideally an ocean, in case of accidents. Thus rockets should be launched from a continent's east coast as close to the equator as possible. For the United States, Florida is the most southerly east coast location.
I guess the portion of the Gulf isn't considered large enough. (?) I have no idea.
I saw the Challenger on a Piggy Back take off from Eglin, AFB. I was on the End of the Runway. The next Challenger flight was the disaster.
Primarily for the lower inclination orbits.
ISS missions are at about 51 degrees inclination, so an equatorial launch site isn't a great help.
Wowser--did you take photos?
Actually, missions to the International Space Station are at 51 degrees inclination. That's relatively high. At least for the shuttle.
The orbiter SSME's, ET, SRBs' all had to undergo expensive upgrades in order to reach that inclination.
All for the Russians.
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