Space Shuttle Launches??

[dc21]

Is it possible to see a shuttle launch from the ship?? Are they allowed to sail when one is launching? Crossing fingers to see one on Sept 26 cruise.

 

[pmgreene]

Go to the NASA site for dates. I think the next closest one says not before 9/28. As far as seeing it from the ship, I would guess it would have to be perfect timing. Don't know the answer to that one.

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Can you see them if you're nearby? Oh, yeah, you betcha! Is there some restriction on their sailing. Yes, they make experience a brief delay if the launch is scheduled close to 5:00. In addition, if it's going to be a morning launch on the day the ship returns, they may try to speed things up to be back in time. Or if the launch is scheduled for shortly after the ship sails, they sometimes will go rather slowly so they're still pretty close to the Cape until after the launch.

 

[albiats]

There is a Shuttle Launch currently scheduled 'No Earlier Than' September 28th, and the time has not been announced yet, for security reasons. It would be the Atlantis on STS 112.

An Atlas Rocket is also scheduled to be launched on Aug 21 at 6:09pm.

A night launch is very easy to see for at least 200 miles, daytime is less clear to see, but still very possible. If you are close to land or on land, you can listen to a rebroadcast of the shuttle audio with a standard scanner radio. If you're near Port Canaveral, it is on 421.750 (Cocoa Beach) and 146.940 (Merrit Island), and it's available on other frequencies in many other areas of the country.

The Launch Hazard Area (LHA) extends to 65 miles east of Cape Canaveral and they want all Mariners to be clear of the area about 2 1/2 hours before and 1 hour after any launch.

One thing that I only recently started to consider - if you were on the Wonder or the Magic and they had a Shuttle Launch, they have to recover those Solid Rocket Booster engines that fall back into the water. If the flight path had to be adjusted after they launched and those big things were falling back down to earth, I wouldn't want to be very close. Even with the fuel expended, they must still weigh a lot.

 

[disneyholic family]

all the shuttles have been postponed because of the cracks that were found....
but personally i believe that's a made up excuse hiding the fact that they don't know how to deal with the acknowledged security threat.....

 

[carolsherman]

I am sure you can see it from the ship my kids and I saw the shuttle launch in December from the Radisson got some awesome pictures

 

[kramer_clan]

My family will be on the Wonder the 18th to the 22nd of August. The day at sea will be August 21st. Is there a chance we may be able to see the rocket launch?

Vicki

 

[DisneySlave]

Here is a list of the launches from the end of Aug to end of Nov
Launches

 

[albiats]

Originally posted by disneyholic family
all the shuttles have been postponed because of the cracks that were found....
but personally i believe that's a made up excuse hiding the fact that they don't know how to deal with the acknowledged security threat.....

disneyholic family -
Do you have nay links or references about the shuttles postponed because of the cracks or 'your acknowledged security threat'?

NASA is currently planning three shuttle launches before the end of this year, here's the link:http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/schedule/mixfleet.htm

 

[disneyholic family]

the cracks found (in the fuel tanks?) was reported in all the papers/tv etc.....
the july 19 launch was postponed because of them....
i'll go look for an article and post the link for you...

as for the security threat....that was reported in april or may...
i'll go look for that as well...
the FBI reported that they were worried about "unusual activity" in the cape canaveral area....they were specifically worried about shoulder fired missiles targetted at the space shuttle....nothing more was reported after that....but since the report, no shuttles have launched....coincidence?....

 

[disneyholic family]

there are zillions of links about the cracks in the propulsion system (go to google.com)..
here is one link to a CNN article:
http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/space/07/03/shuttle.grounded/

the first two paragraphs are as follows:
(CNN) -- NASA technicians detected a crack in the main propulsion system on the space shuttle Columbia this week, similar to those found on two of its sister ships.

The discovery of tiny fissures near the liquid hydrogen and oxygen lines on the shuttles Atlantis and Discovery prompted shuttle managers last week to ground the entire fleet indefinitely.

The decision put a damper on the space agency's ambitious shuttle launch plan.

 

[albiats]

NASA has reported they have concluded their investigation and know how to repair the cracks and they have 3 launches scheduled for the remainder of 2002:

ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/2002/02-149.txt

a paragraph from the article:

The welding repair was chosen after several groups of
engineers determined the most likely cause of these cracks is
high-cycle fatigue -- a phenomenon attributed to combined
environments such as vibration, thermal and acoustics.

 

[disneyholic family]

and perhaps they've solved the heat-seeking missile problem as well.....time will tell....

 

[albiats]

Originally posted by disneyholic family
and perhaps they've solved the heat-seeking missile problem as well.....time will tell....

I do recall reading about shoulder fired missiles and terrorists a few months ago, but not in conjunction with Cape Canaveral or the Space Shuttle. It was about finding some near a US occupied airbase in Afganistan, and they were believed to have been supplied to them several years ago during a previous Afgan war.

While in the US Army, I was trained to fire shoulder fired missiles for our defense, and naturally, I am keenly interested in their use. It was several years ago, but even then, if one was detected to have been fired, there were defensive moves that could be taken so that the missile would not be successful. I am confident that they have improved their defenses since then, and their abilty to detect one that was fired.

With the increased security for vistors at KSC (I have seen it because I visited the center during a launch attempt this summer) and with the Air Force and Coast Guard patroling the sea and the air with armed ships and planes before and immediately after a launch, I have more confidence than ever that they would be able to detect and stop any aggression before it would do harm.

As you said though, Time will Tell.

 

[disneyholic family]

naturally i share your hopes...
i wish i could find the articles i read...
they were in well regarded papers (not rags as i don't tend to read those)...
if memory serves, the authorities believe that missiles have already reached the US (US supplied missliles that were supplied to the afghans in their war against the soviets)...

the authorities also worry about their use against commercial aircraft...
it's possible to defend against that eventuality....
there already is one commercial airline (at least one that is) whose aircraft are equipped with defenses against missiles (actually decoy or whatever it's called to attract heat seeking missiles)...