Saturday, July 01, 2006
WEATHER SCRUB
Florida's summer weather -- with the late afternoon thunderclouds typical of the tropics -- has been a problem for NASA since the 1960s. Of course, it's a bigger problem when the launch window is very narrow, as it has to be for the shuttle to match the highly-inclined orbit of the International Space Station (something I complain about here on a regular basis). But this is compounded by the fact that the shuttle orbiter has very little maneuvering power once it's in orbit. So it can't change it's orbital plane by more than a degree or two (if that -- it's very slight, for sure).
So let's see -- lumbering, creaky spacecraft that has to make a precise launch window to rendezvous with a space station in the wrong orbit.
GB, THHotA
posted by Greg 2:43 PM
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