4 ms·

Hey, in Colorado we have plenty of open space a mile above sea level. This is not an impossible barrier.

by duaneb 11y ago

dalke 11y ago
I'm sorry, but I don't understand your comment. Are you switching to NASA's other option, which is to "strategically retreat", and suggesting CO?
- duaneb 11y ago
  I am not commenting on NASA's options; I am hardly qualified. I'm simply pointing out that there are plenty of areas on the continent far away from sea-level issues (although as other posters have commented there are other reasons to avoid the area). I'm enjoying the commentary on why the option is untenable.
mikeash 11y ago
I don't think you have enough space for rockets to launch without parts potentially landing on people. Even the Russians end up dropping spent stages in areas that aren't entirely empty: http://www.russianspaceweb.com/baikonur_downrange.html http://www.russianspaceweb.com/baikonur_downrange.html
- jessaustin 11y ago
  Eh, it's difficult to muster much concern for Kansas. Besides, with re-use becoming more popular, there's less reason to drop spare parts downrange.
  - mikeash 11y ago
    Reuse cuts down on the problem a lot, but there's still the possibility of things going wrong and debris coming down on stuff you'd rather stayed not-flat.
jfoutz 11y ago
Hey, in New Mexico we already have a spaceport. http://spaceportamerica.com/ http://spaceportamerica.com/ Also, we have enough open space that occasionally we get nuked. So that's pretty sweet.
- zardo 11y ago
  They won't be able to do orbital flights from spaceportamerica.
  - gozur88 11y ago
    Orbital flights would be no problem, although equatorial orbits would require more fuel.
    - zardo 11y ago
      I think the FAA would have a very big problem with ballistic trajectories crossing populated areas.
AnimalMuppet 11y ago
Further south matters. Basically, from the earth's rotation, you get 1000 MPH x cos(lattitude) of free velocity toward orbit, so being closer to the equator is a fairly big deal.
- gknoy 11y ago
  Because eastward launches net you more delta-V, you also benefit a lot from not having anyone to the east of you on whom to drop spent stages.
- dalke 11y ago
  It's nice, but remember that Russia launches from 45N, so it isn't that critical. The boost is 880mph for KSC, vs. 790mph for Denver vs. 710 mph for Baikonur. The deltas are only 100-200 mph, vs. the 17,500 mph needed for orbit. The worst case is Israel, which for geographic and geopolitical reasons has to launch to the west instead of east. Even that's only about a 30% penalty in payload. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Space_Agency#Palmachim_Spaceport https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Space_Agency#Palmachim_...
  - brownbat 11y ago
    And is this counteracted at all by the mile head-start out of the gravity well? Also, for spent stages, the population density of Kansas isn't that much higher than the Atlantic, they're basically identical after rounding. /s
    - dalke 11y ago
      No, not really. It's only 1/250th of the way up, and the hard part is to go sideways real fast, not up. https://what-if.xkcd.com/58/ https://what-if.xkcd.com/58/ . The lawsuits are $0, after rounding to the nearest trillion.
      - brownbat 11y ago
        > The lawsuits are $0, after rounding to the nearest trillion. Exactly so! Wait, you caught the sarcasm tag right?

Hey, in Colorado we have plenty of open space a mile above sea level. This is not an impossible barrier.

by duaneb 11y ago

Hey, in Colorado we have plenty of open space a mile above sea level. This is not an impossible barrier.

dalke 11y ago

I'm sorry, but I don't understand your comment. Are you switching to NASA's other option, which is to "strategically retreat", and suggesting CO?

duaneb 11y ago
I am not commenting on NASA's options; I am hardly qualified. I'm simply pointing out that there are plenty of areas on the continent far away from sea-level issues (although as other posters have commented there are other reasons to avoid the area). I'm enjoying the commentary on why the option is untenable.

mikeash 11y ago

I don't think you have enough space for rockets to launch without parts potentially landing on people. Even the Russians end up dropping spent stages in areas that aren't entirely empty: http://www.russianspaceweb.com/baikonur_downrange.html http://www.russianspaceweb.com/baikonur_downrange.html

jessaustin 11y ago
Eh, it's difficult to muster much concern for Kansas. Besides, with re-use becoming more popular, there's less reason to drop spare parts downrange.
- mikeash 11y ago
  Reuse cuts down on the problem a lot, but there's still the possibility of things going wrong and debris coming down on stuff you'd rather stayed not-flat.

jfoutz 11y ago

Hey, in New Mexico we already have a spaceport. http://spaceportamerica.com/ http://spaceportamerica.com/ Also, we have enough open space that occasionally we get nuked. So that's pretty sweet.

zardo 11y ago
They won't be able to do orbital flights from spaceportamerica.
- gozur88 11y ago
  Orbital flights would be no problem, although equatorial orbits would require more fuel.
  - zardo 11y ago
    I think the FAA would have a very big problem with ballistic trajectories crossing populated areas.

AnimalMuppet 11y ago

Further south matters. Basically, from the earth's rotation, you get 1000 MPH x cos(lattitude) of free velocity toward orbit, so being closer to the equator is a fairly big deal.

gknoy 11y ago
Because eastward launches net you more delta-V, you also benefit a lot from not having anyone to the east of you on whom to drop spent stages.
dalke 11y ago
It's nice, but remember that Russia launches from 45N, so it isn't that critical. The boost is 880mph for KSC, vs. 790mph for Denver vs. 710 mph for Baikonur. The deltas are only 100-200 mph, vs. the 17,500 mph needed for orbit. The worst case is Israel, which for geographic and geopolitical reasons has to launch to the west instead of east. Even that's only about a 30% penalty in payload. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Space_Agency#Palmachim_Spaceport https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Space_Agency#Palmachim_...
- brownbat 11y ago
  And is this counteracted at all by the mile head-start out of the gravity well? Also, for spent stages, the population density of Kansas isn't that much higher than the Atlantic, they're basically identical after rounding. /s
  - dalke 11y ago
    No, not really. It's only 1/250th of the way up, and the hard part is to go sideways real fast, not up. https://what-if.xkcd.com/58/ https://what-if.xkcd.com/58/ . The lawsuits are $0, after rounding to the nearest trillion.
    - brownbat 11y ago
      > The lawsuits are $0, after rounding to the nearest trillion. Exactly so! Wait, you caught the sarcasm tag right?