Re: Taking pictures of the ET

John Doe wrote:
> Part of the limitation in the current "daylight" launch window is that the
> Crew must be able to take pretty pictures of the ET after it has been
> separated from the shuttle to inspect for any damage.
>
> Right now, they seem to dump the ET fairly soon after launch so it falls in
> pacific (or is is indian ocean ?), after which they do the OMS burns to raise
> orbit and most importantly circularise it.
>
> Could they haul the ET longer so they could detach it in daylight, take
> pictures and have it still targetted at an ocean for re-entry ?

For a 4:32pm (EDT) launch, it appears the sunrise side of the
terminatoris over Japan. That means the ET would have to be carried a
*lot* farther, which changes the launch procedures significantly. Not
something to do just days before launch.

The "ET station" concept did involve carrying the ET to orbit, but that
was for a 28N inclination, and involved some tweaks for additional
performance, IIRC.

/dps

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Modest Proposal - Common Interplanetary Booster
    ... Recall, that high specific impulse on orbit, translates to more ... sized vehicle can do much to reduce costs as well. ... It is attached to a flight element that has 15,384 pounds ... per launch. ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: How long _should_ it take
    ... > Apollo program was given the go-ahead to the time the first capsule ... processed at sea as it was brought back to the launch center. ... leaving to carry on as the third stage - to orbit. ... We also studied a nuclear thermal rocket system - basically the NEBA ...
    (sci.space.history)
  • OT:Jonathans Space Report No. 644
    ... T-31 second mark because of a sensor failure in the launch tower arm ... launch occurred successfully at 1529:04 UTC. ... Atlantis reached a 57 x 227 km orbit; ... Aerospace Corporation Picosat Solar Cell Experiment satellite which was ...
    (alt.sports.basketball.nba.la-lakers)
  • Jonathans Space Report, No. 582
    ... The Chinese Yaogan remote sensing satellites are something of a mystery. ... It's not clear whether Yaogan entered the final-stage orbit first ... other object from the launch has been cataloged by US sensors - what ... with an onboard engine leaving the second stage in a suborbital trajectory? ...
    (sci.space.news)
  • Jonathans Space Report, No. 573
    ... It soft-docked with the Zvezda module at 1429 UTC on Oct 26. ... spinning stage 3 fired to place itself in a translunar orbit, ... 2004 Aug 3 0616 Launch ... satellite for XM Satellite Radio into geostationary transfer orbit. ...
    (sci.space.news)