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Negative impact of having the launch pad away from the Equator
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Negative impact of having the launch pad away from the Equator
The strange orbit of Ofeq 11 - how does it (actually) do this?What are the towers around the SpaceX launch pad used for?How far away can one see a NASA rocket launch?What's the white tall tower with a tank near Space Shuttle launch pad?What are the rectangular wires around Atlas V launch site?How long to repair the pad/tower after the SpaceX disaster?What dangers are on a launch pad after a successful launch?First interplanetary launch from California, why the initial polar orbit?“Pillars of Baikonur” What is the purpose of the hundreds of short, white posts near the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad?What is the oldest functional Launch Complex?Why is this part of the Space Shuttle launch pad suspended so high off the ground?
$begingroup$
I imagine a satellite meant for reaching a geostationary orbit will benefit most from it, but being near the Equator is surely an advantage to any space launch (right?).
However, what's the impact of each degree south or north away from the Equator on the launch? At what point would a launch become unfeasible?
Obviously, there are other factors. Only 13 countries are crossed directly by the line: Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Sao Tome & Principe, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Maldives, Indonesia and Kiribati. Most of these are surely not an option. So, I get that any space port would strive to approach the Equator, but might not get too close.
launch-site
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add a comment |
$begingroup$
I imagine a satellite meant for reaching a geostationary orbit will benefit most from it, but being near the Equator is surely an advantage to any space launch (right?).
However, what's the impact of each degree south or north away from the Equator on the launch? At what point would a launch become unfeasible?
Obviously, there are other factors. Only 13 countries are crossed directly by the line: Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Sao Tome & Principe, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Maldives, Indonesia and Kiribati. Most of these are surely not an option. So, I get that any space port would strive to approach the Equator, but might not get too close.
launch-site
New contributor
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I imagine a satellite meant for reaching a geostationary orbit will benefit most from it, but being near the Equator is surely an advantage to any space launch (right?).
However, what's the impact of each degree south or north away from the Equator on the launch? At what point would a launch become unfeasible?
Obviously, there are other factors. Only 13 countries are crossed directly by the line: Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Sao Tome & Principe, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Maldives, Indonesia and Kiribati. Most of these are surely not an option. So, I get that any space port would strive to approach the Equator, but might not get too close.
launch-site
New contributor
$endgroup$
I imagine a satellite meant for reaching a geostationary orbit will benefit most from it, but being near the Equator is surely an advantage to any space launch (right?).
However, what's the impact of each degree south or north away from the Equator on the launch? At what point would a launch become unfeasible?
Obviously, there are other factors. Only 13 countries are crossed directly by the line: Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Sao Tome & Principe, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Maldives, Indonesia and Kiribati. Most of these are surely not an option. So, I get that any space port would strive to approach the Equator, but might not get too close.
launch-site
launch-site
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edited 1 hour ago
Ingolifs
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2 Answers
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$begingroup$
I imagine a satellite meant for reaching a geostationary orbit will benefit most from it, but being near the Equator is surely an advantage to any space launch.
Actually, no, not any space launch.
For retrograde orbits ("backwards" orbits with inclination greater than 90 degrees) you have to overcome the spin of the Earth. Most retrograde orbits are close to polar (around 98 degrees for sun-synchronous) but sometimes they are strongly inclined, way past 90 degrees. In this case, being farther from the equator is an advantage, up until your latitude reaches the inclination itself. For example, to get to 135 degrees inclination you can launch between +/- 45 degrees without a big problem, but beyond that you have do waste a lot of delta-v to do a plane change.
You can read about an example of a strongly retrograde orbit in The strange orbit of Ofeq 11 - how does it (actually) do this?
Which leads to the second point:
However, what's the impact of each degree south or north away from the Equator on the launch? At what point would a launch become unfeasible?
It's probably never unfeasible, but latitudes larger than the inclination will become increasingly wasteful due to the required plane change. At some point you'll need a bigger rocket for a given payload mass.
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
However, what's the impact of each degree south or north away from the Equator on the launch? At what point would a launch become unfeasible?
The rotational speed of the Earth's surface at the equator, and thus the "free" velocity you get from launching from there into an equatorial orbit, is about 463 m/s. The total velocity budget needed to get to low Earth orbit varies with the design of the rocket, but is usually around 9400 m/s, so you get about 5% of your speed for free. The rotational speed is proportional to the cosine of the latitude; Cape Canaveral at 28.5º north is thus moving at ~407 m/s, so still gaining a lot from the rotation. At no latitude is an orbital launch unfeasible; you just need a slightly more powerful rocket or a slightly smaller payload to launch from higher latitudes. Baikonur is at 46º N (321 m/s) and Plesetsk is at 63º (210 m/s)!
It does require additional energy to launch into a lower inclination orbit than the latitude you're starting from: if you want to orbit directly over the equator from Canaveral, you have to start as if you're launching into a 28.5º-inclination orbit, then modify your direction of flight as you approach the equator.
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add a comment |
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2 Answers
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$begingroup$
I imagine a satellite meant for reaching a geostationary orbit will benefit most from it, but being near the Equator is surely an advantage to any space launch.
Actually, no, not any space launch.
For retrograde orbits ("backwards" orbits with inclination greater than 90 degrees) you have to overcome the spin of the Earth. Most retrograde orbits are close to polar (around 98 degrees for sun-synchronous) but sometimes they are strongly inclined, way past 90 degrees. In this case, being farther from the equator is an advantage, up until your latitude reaches the inclination itself. For example, to get to 135 degrees inclination you can launch between +/- 45 degrees without a big problem, but beyond that you have do waste a lot of delta-v to do a plane change.
You can read about an example of a strongly retrograde orbit in The strange orbit of Ofeq 11 - how does it (actually) do this?
Which leads to the second point:
However, what's the impact of each degree south or north away from the Equator on the launch? At what point would a launch become unfeasible?
It's probably never unfeasible, but latitudes larger than the inclination will become increasingly wasteful due to the required plane change. At some point you'll need a bigger rocket for a given payload mass.
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I imagine a satellite meant for reaching a geostationary orbit will benefit most from it, but being near the Equator is surely an advantage to any space launch.
Actually, no, not any space launch.
For retrograde orbits ("backwards" orbits with inclination greater than 90 degrees) you have to overcome the spin of the Earth. Most retrograde orbits are close to polar (around 98 degrees for sun-synchronous) but sometimes they are strongly inclined, way past 90 degrees. In this case, being farther from the equator is an advantage, up until your latitude reaches the inclination itself. For example, to get to 135 degrees inclination you can launch between +/- 45 degrees without a big problem, but beyond that you have do waste a lot of delta-v to do a plane change.
You can read about an example of a strongly retrograde orbit in The strange orbit of Ofeq 11 - how does it (actually) do this?
Which leads to the second point:
However, what's the impact of each degree south or north away from the Equator on the launch? At what point would a launch become unfeasible?
It's probably never unfeasible, but latitudes larger than the inclination will become increasingly wasteful due to the required plane change. At some point you'll need a bigger rocket for a given payload mass.
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I imagine a satellite meant for reaching a geostationary orbit will benefit most from it, but being near the Equator is surely an advantage to any space launch.
Actually, no, not any space launch.
For retrograde orbits ("backwards" orbits with inclination greater than 90 degrees) you have to overcome the spin of the Earth. Most retrograde orbits are close to polar (around 98 degrees for sun-synchronous) but sometimes they are strongly inclined, way past 90 degrees. In this case, being farther from the equator is an advantage, up until your latitude reaches the inclination itself. For example, to get to 135 degrees inclination you can launch between +/- 45 degrees without a big problem, but beyond that you have do waste a lot of delta-v to do a plane change.
You can read about an example of a strongly retrograde orbit in The strange orbit of Ofeq 11 - how does it (actually) do this?
Which leads to the second point:
However, what's the impact of each degree south or north away from the Equator on the launch? At what point would a launch become unfeasible?
It's probably never unfeasible, but latitudes larger than the inclination will become increasingly wasteful due to the required plane change. At some point you'll need a bigger rocket for a given payload mass.
$endgroup$
I imagine a satellite meant for reaching a geostationary orbit will benefit most from it, but being near the Equator is surely an advantage to any space launch.
Actually, no, not any space launch.
For retrograde orbits ("backwards" orbits with inclination greater than 90 degrees) you have to overcome the spin of the Earth. Most retrograde orbits are close to polar (around 98 degrees for sun-synchronous) but sometimes they are strongly inclined, way past 90 degrees. In this case, being farther from the equator is an advantage, up until your latitude reaches the inclination itself. For example, to get to 135 degrees inclination you can launch between +/- 45 degrees without a big problem, but beyond that you have do waste a lot of delta-v to do a plane change.
You can read about an example of a strongly retrograde orbit in The strange orbit of Ofeq 11 - how does it (actually) do this?
Which leads to the second point:
However, what's the impact of each degree south or north away from the Equator on the launch? At what point would a launch become unfeasible?
It's probably never unfeasible, but latitudes larger than the inclination will become increasingly wasteful due to the required plane change. At some point you'll need a bigger rocket for a given payload mass.
answered 1 hour ago
uhohuhoh
43.5k19166545
43.5k19166545
add a comment |
add a comment |
$begingroup$
However, what's the impact of each degree south or north away from the Equator on the launch? At what point would a launch become unfeasible?
The rotational speed of the Earth's surface at the equator, and thus the "free" velocity you get from launching from there into an equatorial orbit, is about 463 m/s. The total velocity budget needed to get to low Earth orbit varies with the design of the rocket, but is usually around 9400 m/s, so you get about 5% of your speed for free. The rotational speed is proportional to the cosine of the latitude; Cape Canaveral at 28.5º north is thus moving at ~407 m/s, so still gaining a lot from the rotation. At no latitude is an orbital launch unfeasible; you just need a slightly more powerful rocket or a slightly smaller payload to launch from higher latitudes. Baikonur is at 46º N (321 m/s) and Plesetsk is at 63º (210 m/s)!
It does require additional energy to launch into a lower inclination orbit than the latitude you're starting from: if you want to orbit directly over the equator from Canaveral, you have to start as if you're launching into a 28.5º-inclination orbit, then modify your direction of flight as you approach the equator.
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
However, what's the impact of each degree south or north away from the Equator on the launch? At what point would a launch become unfeasible?
The rotational speed of the Earth's surface at the equator, and thus the "free" velocity you get from launching from there into an equatorial orbit, is about 463 m/s. The total velocity budget needed to get to low Earth orbit varies with the design of the rocket, but is usually around 9400 m/s, so you get about 5% of your speed for free. The rotational speed is proportional to the cosine of the latitude; Cape Canaveral at 28.5º north is thus moving at ~407 m/s, so still gaining a lot from the rotation. At no latitude is an orbital launch unfeasible; you just need a slightly more powerful rocket or a slightly smaller payload to launch from higher latitudes. Baikonur is at 46º N (321 m/s) and Plesetsk is at 63º (210 m/s)!
It does require additional energy to launch into a lower inclination orbit than the latitude you're starting from: if you want to orbit directly over the equator from Canaveral, you have to start as if you're launching into a 28.5º-inclination orbit, then modify your direction of flight as you approach the equator.
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
However, what's the impact of each degree south or north away from the Equator on the launch? At what point would a launch become unfeasible?
The rotational speed of the Earth's surface at the equator, and thus the "free" velocity you get from launching from there into an equatorial orbit, is about 463 m/s. The total velocity budget needed to get to low Earth orbit varies with the design of the rocket, but is usually around 9400 m/s, so you get about 5% of your speed for free. The rotational speed is proportional to the cosine of the latitude; Cape Canaveral at 28.5º north is thus moving at ~407 m/s, so still gaining a lot from the rotation. At no latitude is an orbital launch unfeasible; you just need a slightly more powerful rocket or a slightly smaller payload to launch from higher latitudes. Baikonur is at 46º N (321 m/s) and Plesetsk is at 63º (210 m/s)!
It does require additional energy to launch into a lower inclination orbit than the latitude you're starting from: if you want to orbit directly over the equator from Canaveral, you have to start as if you're launching into a 28.5º-inclination orbit, then modify your direction of flight as you approach the equator.
$endgroup$
However, what's the impact of each degree south or north away from the Equator on the launch? At what point would a launch become unfeasible?
The rotational speed of the Earth's surface at the equator, and thus the "free" velocity you get from launching from there into an equatorial orbit, is about 463 m/s. The total velocity budget needed to get to low Earth orbit varies with the design of the rocket, but is usually around 9400 m/s, so you get about 5% of your speed for free. The rotational speed is proportional to the cosine of the latitude; Cape Canaveral at 28.5º north is thus moving at ~407 m/s, so still gaining a lot from the rotation. At no latitude is an orbital launch unfeasible; you just need a slightly more powerful rocket or a slightly smaller payload to launch from higher latitudes. Baikonur is at 46º N (321 m/s) and Plesetsk is at 63º (210 m/s)!
It does require additional energy to launch into a lower inclination orbit than the latitude you're starting from: if you want to orbit directly over the equator from Canaveral, you have to start as if you're launching into a 28.5º-inclination orbit, then modify your direction of flight as you approach the equator.
answered 1 hour ago
Russell BorogoveRussell Borogove
92.6k3310394
92.6k3310394
add a comment |
add a comment |
Quora Feans is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Quora Feans is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Quora Feans is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Quora Feans is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
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