The Air Force has opened a “polar corridor” that would allow certain rockets to launch spacecraft from Cape Canaveral into north-south orbits circling the poles, a development that could bring more launches to Florida.
The caveat being that this new option is only available to LVs with an automated flight termination system:QuoteThe Air Force has opened a “polar corridor” that would allow certain rockets to launch spacecraft from Cape Canaveral into north-south orbits circling the poles, a development that could bring more launches to Florida.http://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2017/12/31/southbound-cape-rockets-may-fly-new-path-toward-poles/975027001/
This is going to make the Cape/Eastern Range even more over-taxed.
Beyond satellite launches, the corridor could open opportunities to rendezvous with the International Space Station as it flew to the north or south.
Quote from: AncientU on 01/01/2018 01:33 pmThis is going to make the Cape/Eastern Range even more over-taxed.CCAFFS is working to support 48 launches a year by 2023:http://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2017/12/01/us-air-force-budget-uncertainty-threatens-cape-canaveral-florida-rocket-launch-rate-nasa-spacex-ula/902868001/
Would the dogleg, the first change of direction, be after staging for Falcon?ASDS landings would occur not far off Ft Lauderdale. Would be a good show for many. Launching into morning Sun-synch orbits could occur near sunset and occasionally produce great displays like the last Iridium launch off LA. However, this has the ring of a turf war between CCAFS and VAFB. Any advantages seem marginal. The Air Force is unlikely to close Vandenberg.
I wonder if this might be motivated by Blue Origin, not SpaceX. Does Blue have an VAFB plans currently? How far downrange is New Glenn supposed to land?
Quote from: Oberon_Command on 01/01/2018 04:55 pmI wonder if this might be motivated by Blue Origin, not SpaceX. Does Blue have an VAFB plans currently? How far downrange is New Glenn supposed to land?As stated in the Florida Today article that started this thread"The Eastern Range began analyzing options for polar launches as a wild fire raged near Vandenberg in September 2016. The fire damaged power and communications lines and delayed a commercial mission by two months."Why do people need to dream up ideas without reading the source material?Carl
Both the military and commercial launchers could save money by no longer having to maintain and staff infrastructure sites on both coasts.
Blue Origin, which has a contract to launch OneWeb satellites into polar orbits in the 2020s, does not yet have a Vandenberg launch site and says those missions could launch from the Cape....Brian Holz, CEO of OneWeb Satellites, which next year will start building satellites at KSC, said a polar launch option from Florida would benefit rocket and satellite providers.“From a OneWeb Satellites perspective, having the satellite manufacturing located next door to a launch facility that has such flexibility would be a huge benefit,” he said.
That said, NASA apparently last used this corridor in 1965-66 to orbit TIROS satellites using Thor-Delta rockets.
Personally, I don't see this happening. Flying over Cuba, with an IIP passing over the island during the thrusting phase, given the history of past flights on this corridor, presents too many opportunities for trouble. If you think California is "hostile" to VAFB launches, what do you think Cuba is going to say? Not to mention the more crowded sea lanes beneath such a launch track. Liability would be an issue for a commercial contractor, etc. That said, NASA apparently last used this corridor in 1965-66 to orbit TIROS satellites using Thor-Delta rockets. - Ed Kyle
“They crunched numbers for about eight months, and I am confident we can go south,” said Monteith (Brig. Gen. Wayne Monteith, commander of the 45th Space Wing)Monteith did not detail the precise trajectory, but said it involved “a little jog shortly off the pad” to turn south once offshore, “and then we’d skirt Miami.”The rocket’s first stage would drop safely before reaching Cuba, he said. The second stage would be so high up by the time it flew over the island that no special permissions would be required.
If you think California is "hostile" to VAFB launches, what do you think Cuba is going to say?
Also: why do you think this is only being considered for vehicles with autonomous flight termination systems?
Quote from: woods170 on 01/02/2018 07:31 amAlso: why do you think this is only being considered for vehicles with autonomous flight termination systems?I thought that's because range isn't set up to track a southbound rocket to do Old School ground-controlled FTS and adding support to that would be Expensive and kinda silly now that AFTS is the state of the art.