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Author
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Topic: How are rockets' launch windows planned?
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OV3Discovery
Member Posts: 100
From:
Registered: Mar 2015
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posted 11-12-2015 07:06 AM
  
I always wondered what type of considerations go into calculating the times and lengths of launch windows. Also the large difference in time for the same destination. For example, Dragon on the way to the space station has a launch window of approximately one second while the December launch of Cygnus has a launch window of about 30 to 40 minutes approximately. |
moorouge
Member Posts: 2454
From: U.K.
Registered: Jul 2009
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posted 11-12-2015 09:17 AM
I wonder if this helps - Apollo lunar landing launch window: The controlling factors and constraints.
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OV3Discovery
Member Posts: 100
From:
Registered: Mar 2015
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posted 11-16-2015 07:57 AM
Thank you, that article cleared a lot up. |
mercsim
Member Posts: 219
From: Phoenix, AZ
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 11-16-2015 09:34 AM
There are some really good 60's era videos on YouTube that go over this subject. Here is a pretty good one. If you search on the author, he has posted a bunch of stuff like this from the period. If the link doesn't work right, YouTube guy is Jeff Quitney. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 11-18-2015 03:07 AM
quote:
Originally posted by OV3Discovery:
...while the December launch of Cygnus has a launch window of about 30 to 40 minutes approximately.
Spaceflight Now has an article explaining why the upcoming Atlas V-Cygnus launch has a longer launch window than is typical for space station flights: The performance of the Atlas 5 will produce a 30-minute launch window each day."It is all about available energy to steer you to the right place," said Dan Tani, a former astronaut who spent 120 days living and working aboard the station on Expedition 16 and now Orbital ATK's manager of mission and cargo operations. "There is an ideal launch moment, and that's what SpaceX targets. A lot of other launch vehicles use excess performance to not have to hit a moment and use that energy to steer to the right place. "Atlas has so much available energy that they can accommodate what I consider a very large, off-nominal time of launch — 15 minutes early, 15 minutes late... |
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