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(meteorobs) SHUTTLE LAUNCH TO BE VISIBLE ALONG US EAST COAST



Those living along the U.S. East Coast will have an excellent chance at 
seeing the Wednesday evening Space Shuttle launch as the Atlantis 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 ATLANTIS SHOULD BE VISIBLE ALONG MUCH OF THE U.S. 
EAST COAST WEDNESDAY 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 102nd 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 Atlantis is expected to leave Pad  39A at Florida's Kennedy 
Space Center on Wednesday, February 7, 2001 at 6:11 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 Thursday attempt to launch would come at around 5:46 to 5:48 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 local 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.

From NASA . . . 

MISSION: STS-98 -  7th  ISS Flight (5A) - U.S. Laboratory 
VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104
LOCATION: Launch Pad 39A 
TARGET KSC LAUNCH DATE/TIME: Feb. 7, 2001 at 6:11 p.m. EST
TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Feb. 18, 2001 at about 12:58 p.m. EST
LAUNCH WINDOW:  less than 5 minutes
MISSION DURATION: 10 days, 18 hours and 47 minutes 
CREW: Cockrell, Polansky, Curbeam, Jones, Ivins
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 177 nautical miles/51.6 degrees

Shuttle Processing Note: Preparation for the Launch of Space Shuttle
Atlantis continues on schedule.  Over the weekend, the flight crew arrived
at KSC and the launch countdown began Sunday at 10 p.m. EST.  One of the
three spacesuits aboard Atlantis was replaced Sunday afternoon and a second
spacesuit was reinstalled today.  The additional spacesuit work ensured the
integrity of the fan units on each suit.  

On Monday, engineers completed preparations to load Atlantis' power reactant
storage and distribution system.  Loading of cryogenic reactants into the
fuel cell storage tanks begins this evening.  Early Tuesday, the Shuttle's
mid-body umbilical unit will be demated and final main engine preparations
will begin.  Flight crew equipment late stow is slated for Tuesday evening
and the Rotating Service Structure is scheduled to move away from the
Shuttle Tuesday at 10 p.m.  Loading of the external tank is schedule to
begin at about 9:16 a.m. Wednesday.

Forecasters indicate a 20 percent chance of weather violating launch commit
criteria on Wednesday.  The forecast calls for scattered clouds at 3,000 and
25,000 feet; visibility at 7 miles; winds from the southeast at 8 peaking to
14 knots; temperature at 68 degrees F; dewpoint 56 degrees F; relative
humidity at 65 percent and a slight chance of coastal showers.  The 24-hour
delay forecast predicts a 30 percent chance of weather violation.

(KSC Space Shuttle Processing Status 2/5/01)

SUMMARY OF BUILT-IN HOLDS FOR STS-98

    T-TIME            LENGTH OF HOLD        HOLD BEGINS        HOLD ENDS 
T-27 hours  4 hours 2 p.m. Mon. 6 p.m. Mon. 
T-19 hours  4 hours 2 a.m. Tues.    6 a.m. Tues.    
T-11 hours  12 hours, 16 minutes    2 p.m. Tues.    2:16 a.m. Wed.  
T-6 hours   2 hours 7:16 a.m. Wed.  9:16 a.m. Wed.  
T-3 hours   2 hours 12:16 p.m. Wed. 2:16 p.m. Wed.  
T-20 minutes    10 minutes  4:56 p.m. Wed.  5:06 p.m. Wed.  
T-9 minutes about 45 minutes    5:17 p.m. Wed.  6:02 p.m. Wed.  

CREW FOR MISSION STS-98
Commander (CDR):    Kenneth Cockrell        
Pilot (PLT):    Mark Polansky       
Mission Specialist (MS1):   Robert Curbeam      
Mission Specialist (MS2):   Marsha Ivins        
Mission Specialist (MS3):   Thomas Jones        
            
            SUMMARY OF STS-98 LAUNCH DAY CREW ACTIVITIES

Wednesday, Feb. 7
6:30 a.m.   Crew wake up
7 a.m.      Breakfast
7:30 a.m.   Medical Checks
12:30 p.m.  Lunch
*1:10 p.m.  Photo opportunity
1:41 p.m.   Weather Briefing(CDR, PLT, MS2)
1:41 p.m.   Don flight suits (MS1, MS3)
*1:51 p.m.  Don flight suits (CDR, PLT, MS2)
*2:21 p.m.  Depart for launch pad
*2:51 p.m.  Arrive at white room and begin ingress
*4:06 p.m.  Close crew hatch
*6:11 p.m.  Launch

* Televised events (times may vary slightly)
All times Eastern
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