re: NASA SpaceX Launch Saturday 3:22 EDT

So weird


We are launching two people into outer space today, and not a peep about it from the people I follow on social media


They’d all rather post and read about faux race-related outrage and overused memes

Social media girl on NASA/SpaceX stream is annoying.

quote:

---

I’m surprised the launch sites weren’t originally built in southern California.

---

It takes a certain amount of velocity to reach orbit. A rocket's launch site is constantly moving Eastward due to the Earth's rotation (unless it's at one of the poles). This velocity is free and is velocity you don't have to add to the spacecraft to get to orbital velocities (if you're orbiting in the same direction the Earth spins). The velocity is determined by your latitude with the poles having no free velocity and the closer to the equator you are, the more free velocity you get until you get to the equator where the velocity of the Earth's surface due to its spin is the greatest, so South is good. You also don't want to fly over populated areas for safety reasons in case the rocket fails. Since we're flying predominantly Eastward, somewhere on the East coast is great because you're flying over the ocean. South and East = Florida!

California launches into polar orbits. With polar orbits, you have to cancel out some or all of the velocity you get from the Earth's spin because you're flying North and South, so you have to get rid of the Eastward motion due to the Earth's spin. In this case, closer to the poles is better, so we want to go North in America to find our launch site. The same restrictions for flying over people applies. You can't fly Northward from any spot in American without overflying people, so South is the direction we must go. Can't really launch from the Gulf Coast into polar trajectories because we'd overfly Mexico, the Caribbean, South America, etc. Same thing with launching into polar trajectories from Cape Canaveral or the Virginia launch sites or any other place on the East coast. So, the West coast is pretty much the only option in the continental U.S. for polar trajectories. The shape of the west coast and the fact we have to fly South means that Oregon and Washington are out, So we're left with getting as far North as we can in California and still be able to launch South out over the Pacific and miss the West coast of Mexico and South America. Turns out that's about where Vandeburg AFB already was. There isn't enough need for polar orbits (most satellites orbit more toward the equator because that's where they are needed and it's most economical) to justify building an entire new facility further North, so we just use Vandenburg.

Musk's South Texas spaceport is going to fly very limited equatorial trajectories kind of to the ESE from the port, over the Gulf, just passing South of Hispanola on its way out through the Caribbean, then out over the Atlantic. They're going to thread the needle there and have that narrow window to fly through.

ICBMs don't have this "flying over people" restriction because we're trying to kill people when those things fly.

I like to hedge by putting question marks in case I say something dumb.

quote:

---

You kind of wonder if Florida was the best location to have been chosen when the space program was initiated. Weather has always been a concern. Thunderstorms and Florida go hand in hand. I’m surprised the launch sites weren’t originally built in southern California.

---

There’s geographic reasons that they launch from the point they do. They didn’t abjectly pick Florida.

quote:

---

It was selected for two reasons: the fact that it is relatively near to the equator compared to other U.S. locations, and the fact that it is on the East Coast. An East Coast location was desirable because any rockets leaving Earth's surface and traveling eastward get a boost from the Earth's spin.

---

Yes. Right before the comms check, they spoke with the astronauts and let them know that the first cell was moving offshore, and the second cell over Orlando seemed to be deteriorating but was to be assessed closer to launch.

Hits the blunt.

Banners bearing this

Unfurl

The mechs come out and he is crowned the first of equals.

TBH the weather is looking better. The cell near Orlando is diminishing, and the rain has stabilized the atmosphere enough to prevent any lightning.

Any chance I’ll be able to get a glimpse from here in Orlando?

quote:

---

Any chance I’ll be able to get a glimpse from here in Orlando?

---

If it's not too cloudy, probably.