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Under launch facilities, the one in California, that is suited for "defense intelligence" also touts a "launch path completely over the ocean".. I guess that m

by sbarre 11y ago

Under launch facilities, the one in California, that is suited for "defense intelligence" also touts a "launch path completely over the ocean".. I guess that makes sense, if your super secret launch payload is going to fail, better that it falls in the ocean?

dr_zoidberg 11y ago
I think it's almost standard (save for Rusia) to launch near the ocean. If the rocket fails, it's easier and less dangerous to sink in in water than have it crash on land go boom over any kind of structure (civilian, military, cities, etc).
- jccooper 11y ago
  And China: https://twitter.com/SinoDefence/status/637174369677123584 https://twitter.com/SinoDefence/status/637174369677123584
outworlder 11y ago
Probably more to do with overflight issues in other countries. Edit: also avoids "dog leg maneuvers". Like countries such as India are forced to do. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/pslvc16-puts-3-satellites-in-orbit/article1711767.ece http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/pslvc16-puts-3-satelli...
jarek 11y ago
It is completely standard to seek to launch over the ocean. The spaceports in Florida and Guiana are where they are because of that and because it is easier to launch towards the east. Where launches aren't over the ocean they are usually over very sparsely populated territory (as is the case for Baikonur). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaceport#Placement_considerations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaceport#Placement_considerat...
logfromblammo 11y ago
There are likely other considerations. You may not want another nation's ground-based radars tracking your launch, for instance. Though I suspect that superpower nations have satellites in orbit intended to detect rocket launches, for the obvious nuclear war reasons. They all have an interest in knowing whether the payload is bound for orbit or for ballistic re-entry within their borders. I think the main concern is that a payload that might fall into the ocean can be guarded by heavily armed naval vessels, whereas one that falls on land might have bits stolen by locals before the soldiers get there, in such a way that no one could be sure whether those bits were destroyed or captured. Military payloads are also probably more likely to want to be in polar orbits. That doesn't have much to do with launching over the ocean so much as the direction of the launch from California being southward.
jccooper 11y ago
No; all US launches are over ocean to satisfy FAA that you have a very small chance of damaging something on the ground. You could launch over land if you could prove that your rocket was about as likely to fail as an airliner, but there's currently no such thing. Vandenburg AFB's launch facilities are good for defense sats because (1) they're from a DoD facility and (2) that's the premier US site for polar orbits. Most surveillance sats do polar or polar-ish orbits because that can put any particular part of the planet directly underneath it several times a day. SpaceX also has an Air Force pad at Cape Canaveral, but that site is suited only for equatorial orbits, again due to geography. Those are mostly for comm sats, science (incl. interplanetary), and human missions.

by sbarre 11y ago

dr_zoidberg 11y ago

I think it's almost standard (save for Rusia) to launch near the ocean. If the rocket fails, it's easier and less dangerous to sink in in water than have it crash on land go boom over any kind of structure (civilian, military, cities, etc).

jccooper 11y ago
And China: https://twitter.com/SinoDefence/status/637174369677123584 https://twitter.com/SinoDefence/status/637174369677123584

outworlder 11y ago

Probably more to do with overflight issues in other countries. Edit: also avoids "dog leg maneuvers". Like countries such as India are forced to do. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/pslvc16-puts-3-satellites-in-orbit/article1711767.ece http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/pslvc16-puts-3-satelli...

jarek 11y ago

It is completely standard to seek to launch over the ocean. The spaceports in Florida and Guiana are where they are because of that and because it is easier to launch towards the east. Where launches aren't over the ocean they are usually over very sparsely populated territory (as is the case for Baikonur). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaceport#Placement_considerations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaceport#Placement_considerat...

logfromblammo 11y ago

There are likely other considerations. You may not want another nation's ground-based radars tracking your launch, for instance. Though I suspect that superpower nations have satellites in orbit intended to detect rocket launches, for the obvious nuclear war reasons. They all have an interest in knowing whether the payload is bound for orbit or for ballistic re-entry within their borders. I think the main concern is that a payload that might fall into the ocean can be guarded by heavily armed naval vessels, whereas one that falls on land might have bits stolen by locals before the soldiers get there, in such a way that no one could be sure whether those bits were destroyed or captured. Military payloads are also probably more likely to want to be in polar orbits. That doesn't have much to do with launching over the ocean so much as the direction of the launch from California being southward.

jccooper 11y ago

No; all US launches are over ocean to satisfy FAA that you have a very small chance of damaging something on the ground. You could launch over land if you could prove that your rocket was about as likely to fail as an airliner, but there's currently no such thing. Vandenburg AFB's launch facilities are good for defense sats because (1) they're from a DoD facility and (2) that's the premier US site for polar orbits. Most surveillance sats do polar or polar-ish orbits because that can put any particular part of the planet directly underneath it several times a day. SpaceX also has an Air Force pad at Cape Canaveral, but that site is suited only for equatorial orbits, again due to geography. Those are mostly for comm sats, science (incl. interplanetary), and human missions.