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(meteorobs) NEXT SHUTTLE LAUNCH SHOULD BE VISIBLE ALONG U.S. EAST COAST



    I realize that this is off-topic, but for those meteorobs subscribers 
situated along the Eastern Seaboard, here is something of interest to look 
for.  In the past such launches have occurred in the wee sma' hours and the 
prospective viewing audience was very small.  In this upcoming case . . . the 
launch comes around the dinner hour meaning family, friends and neighbors can 
all watch for this!   

-- joe rao
<A HREF="http://hometown.aol.com/skywayinc/index.html">
http://hometown.aol.com/skywayinc/index.html</A>

(This updated release also includes the latest Shuttle Weather Forecast from 
the Kennedy Space Center)

LAUNCH OF SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY SHOULD BE VISIBLE ALONG MUCH OF THE U.S. 
EAST COAST SOMETIME THIS WEEK

    If you have ever yearned to see a Space Shuttle launch, but have never 
been able to make it down to Florida, you'll get a great opportunity -- 
weather conditions permitting - during the early evening hours sometime 
during this week.  The launch of the 100th shuttle mission -- and the fifth 
to rendezvous and dock with the International Space Station -- should be 
visible along much of the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, including 
the Greater New York Area.

    The Shuttle Discovery is expected to leave Pad  39A at Florida's Kennedy 
Space Center during the early evening hours sometime during this week.  
Technical and weather problems have kept the Shuttle on the launch pad since 
late last week.  The next attempt will come on Tuesday, October 10 at 7:40 
p.m. EDT, but odds for favorable weather at the Florida launch site are not 
good: only 30 percent.  Should the launch be scrubbed, the launch time will 
come approximately 23 to 25 minutes earlier for each successive day that the 
launch is delayed. . . meaning, for example, a Wednesday attempt to launch 
would come at around 7:15 to 7:18 p.m.  

    In order to meet-up with the ISS, the Shuttle will be launched into a 
special orbit that is inclined 51.6° to the equator.  Usually, after liftoff, 
the Shuttle heads out over the Atlantic straight east from Florida, however, 
the upoming launch -- specially configured to match the ISS orbit -- will 
bring the Shuttle's path nearly parallel to the U.S. East Coast. Discovery 
will be visible by virtue of the light emanating from its three main engines. 
 It should appear as a very bright, fast-moving star, shining with a 
pulsating yellowish-orange glow.  Observers who train binoculars on the 
Shuttle should be able to see it look like a ". . . tiny V-shaped contrail."

    Prospective Shuttle-watchers should make sure that they have an 
unobstructed view of the southern and eastern horizons, since, even for many 
localities along the US East Coast it will get no higher than 10º above the 
horizon just before it disappears from view.  The best views will probably be 
from tall buildings or along south and southeast-facing shorelines.  
Discovery will seem to suddenly "flicker-off" exactly 8½ minutes after launch 
as the main engines shut-down and the shuttle's orange external fuel tank is 
jettisoned over the Atlantic at a point 415 miles southeast of New York City. 
 At that moment, the Shuttle will have climbed to an altitude of  375,000 
feet (71 miles) and should be visible for a radius of some 700 miles from the 
point of main engine shutdown.

* In the Southeast US, depending on the distance from Cape Canaveral, 
Discovery will become visible anywhere from 0 to 5 minutes after it leaves 
Pad 39-A.  The brilliant light emitted by the two solid rocket boosters will 
be visible for the first 2.1 minutes of the launch up to a radius of 450 
miles from the Kennedy Space Center. Movement: south-southeast to east.

* In the Middle Atlantic region, Discovery should be visible from 5 to 7 
minutes after liftoff.  Movement: south-southeast to east.

* For the Greater New York Area up into Southern New England, Discovery 
should be visible from 7 minutes up to main engine cutoff (8.5 minutes after 
liftoff).  Movement: south to southeast.

    Before hoping to see the Shuttle streak across your local sky, you should 
make sure that it has left the launch pad!   Watch the launch on CNN, MSNBC 
or FOX News Channel, or listen to a news radio station that is covering it 
live," then head outside and start looking skyward."  

VISIBILITY DATA FOR SELECTED EAST COAST CITIES
                                                                              
                                                                   
                            Time of Closest                                   
           
Location                 Approach       Max. Altitude   Azimuth

Savannah, GA          T + 3½ Min.              10.2º           142.6º
Atlanta, GA             T + 4 Min.               2.9º            121.8º
Spartanburg, SC T + 4½ Min.              4.4º          137.3º
Myrtle Beach, SC    T + 5 Min.              13.8º          140.7º
Wilmington, NC        T + 5½ Min.               15.3º          142.7º
Greensboro, NC        T + 6 Min.                 6.6º          128.0º
Cape Hatteras, NC   T + 6½ Min.             22.1º          146.6º
Roanoke, VA       T + 6½ Min.                 5.0º         126.3º
Norfolk, VA             T + 7 Min.              11.9º          129.5º
Wallops Island, VA  T + 7½ Min.             11.4º          127.4º
Hagerstown, MD  T + 7½ Min.               5.0º         129.8º
Washington, DC  T + 7½ Min.               6.8º         127.9º
Baltimore, MD         T + 7½ Min.                 6.7º         133.2º
Dover, DE               T + 7½ Min.               8.3º         139.4º
Philadelphia, PA    T + 8 Min.                7.8º         132.2º
Atlantic City, NJ   T + 8 Min.              10.0º          131.9º
Wilkes-Barre, PA    T + 8½ Min.               5.1º         126.2º
New York City, NY   T + 8½ Min.               8.0º         129.6º
Hartford, CT.         T + 8½ Min.                 7.8º         145.4º
Providence, RI        T + 8½ Min.                 8.8º         155.6º
Boston, MA              T + 8½ Min.               7.8º         160.8º
Portsmouth, NH        T + 8½ Min.                 6.4º         165.1º
Portland, ME          T + 8½ Min.                 5.5º         169.8º
Albany, NY              T + 8½ Min.               5.3º         143.5º
Halifax, NS             T + 8½ Min.               2.6º         209.7º
            
In the above table . . . the time of closest approach is based on the number 
of minutes counted forward from the time the Shuttle lifts off from Florida.  
Altitude of the Shuttle is the number of degrees measured from above the 
horizon.  Azimuth is the horizontal angular distance measured clockwise in 
degrees along the horizon from due north.  Hence:  0º = North;  90º = East;  
180º = South;  270º = West.  As an example, for New York City, the Shuttle's 
closest approach will come 8½ minutes after liftoff from Florida, with its 
maximum altitude above the horizon of  8.0º at an azimuth of 129.6º, or 39.6º 
south of due east.   

All Calculations by Joe Rao, SKYWAY, INC.

STS-92 LAUNCH WEATHER FORECAST

George H. Diller
Kennedy Space Center

ISSUED: Monday, Oct. 9, 2000  
VALID:    Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2000  

Synopsis:   Cool, windy conditions will persist through Tuesday and begin to
diminish on Wednesday.  The primary concern for a Tuesday evening launch
will be the wind, however cloudiness will also increase as the winds
gradually shift to the northeast tonight and tomorrow.  Conditions will
begin to improve on Wednesday but clouds, wind and isolated showers will
remain a limited concern.    

At the 7:40 p.m. launch time on Tuesday:

Clouds:  4/8 - 5/8  scattered to broken at 3,000 feet - 6, 000 feet
 
Visibility:  7 miles 

Wind at Launch Pad:  NNE at 15 - 20 knots           
SLF Winds:  NE at 10 -16 knots         

Temperature:  68 degrees       

Relative Humidity:  65%

Weather concerns:  RTLS crosswind and low clouds
                                                   
Probability of weather prohibiting launch:  70%
24-hour scrub:  40%
48-hour scrub:  30%

Solid rocket booster recovery area
Wind: NE/18-25 knots   Seas:  8 feet   Water Temperature:  79 degrees

Sunrise:  7:20 a.m.   Sunset:  6:57 p.m.

Launch Forecast by USAF45th Weather Squadron, Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station
SLF Wind Forecast by Spaceflight Meteorology Group, Johnson Space Center
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