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(meteorobs) TONIGHT'S SPACE SHUTTLE LAUNCH TO BE VISIBLE FOR US EAST COAST



From: <A HREF="aol://3548:Skywayinc">Skywayinc</A>

Those living along the U.S. East Coast will have an excellent chance at 
seeing the Thursday night Space Shuttle launch as the Endeavour Orbiter bores 
through the Earth's atmosphere and into Earth orbit. Full details, courtesy 
of Skyway, Inc. are provided below.

-- 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 Advisory from the 
Kennedy Space Center)

LAUNCH OF SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR SHOULD BE VISIBLE ALONG MUCH OF THE U.S. 
EAST COAST THURSDAY NIGHT

    LEVITTOWN, N.Y. -- 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.  According to SKYWAY's Joe Rao, the launch 
of the 101st shuttle mission -- and the sixth 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 Endeavour is expected to leave Pad  39B at Florida's Kennedy 
Space Center on Thursday, November 30 at 10:06 p.m. EST.  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 Friday attempt to launch would come at around 9:41 to 9:43 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," notes Rao, adding that 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."  
Endeavour 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, 
Endeavour 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, Endeavour 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, Endeavour 
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," suggests Rao.  "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.

MISSION: STS-97 - 6th ISS Flight (4A) - PV Module P6

VEHICLE: Endeavour/OV-105
LOCATION: Launch Pad 39B  
TARGET KSC LAUNCH DATE/TIME: Nov. 30, 2000 at 10:06 p.m. EST
TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Dec.11, 2000 at 6:19 p.m.
LAUNCH WINDOW:  less than 5 minutes
MISSION DURATION: 10 days, 20 hours and 13 minutes
CREW: Jett, Bloomfield, Tanner, Noriega, Garneau
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 177 nautical miles/51.6 degrees

Shuttle Processing Note: The countdown for Space Shuttle Endeavour's launch
on mission STS-97 began on schedule at 1 a.m. Wednesday.  Later that morning, 
workers started removing work platforms from the orbiter's mid-deck and 
flight-deck
in preparation for launch.  Activation and testing of Endeavour's
navigational systems occurred Wednesday afternoon.  From 9 p.m. Wednesday 
through 5 a.m. Thursday, the orbiter's fuel cell storage tanks will be loaded 
with
cryogenic reactants.  

Upcoming Milestones

Demate orbiter midbody umbilical unit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nov. 29
Flight crew equipment late stow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. Nov. 29
Begin loading external tank with cryogenic propellants . . . . . .Nov. 30 at
about 12:40 p.m.

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