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So why couldn’t they delay the lunch by a week so everyone could spend Christmas with their families and then launch it?
by ido 5y ago
So why couldn’t they delay the lunch by a week so everyone could spend Christmas with their families and then launch it?
- skapadia 5y agoThe launching of this telescope is FAR more important and beneficial to humanity than an arbitrary holiday that celebrates the winter solstice.
- kenneth 5y agoChristmas doesn't celebrate the winter solstice, it happens to be a few days after the winter solstice. In some places, the solstice is far more important holiday than Christmas, like for Buddhists in HK where I live, who celebrate the solstice with family
- hahajk 5y agoThere very specific times you can launch to establish desired orbits. Typically these windows only come once every month or two.
- dnautics 5y agoIs that the case for an orbit around the earth-sun Lagrange point? It seems like anytime should be GTG
- sandworm101 5y agoTrue. I don't think this is an orbital launch window thing. Rather, the date seemed to be driven by operational necessities (range safety, weather, the practicalities of getting the rocket ready etc).
- jonas21 5y agoI believe the launch windows are fairly constrained due to the precise positioning requirements as well as the requirement to avoid eclipses throughout the lifetime of the telescope. This study [1] was for a planned 2018 launch, but I'm sure there were similar constraints in this time period too. In addition, the fuel required to position the spacecraft varies a lot depending on the day - and any fuel saved can be used to prolong the operational lifetime of the telescope. [1] https://issfd.org/ISSFD_2014/ISSFD24_Paper_S2-6_Yu.pdf https://issfd.org/ISSFD_2014/ISSFD24_Paper_S2-6_Yu.pdf
- sonicggg 5y agoWhat's stopping anyone from staying with their family one or two weeks after Christmas? What's up with this fixation people have with arbitrary dates for celebration?
- neoberg 5y agoBecause those "arbitrary" dates are agreed on by many. So everyone can leave their works on the same day and gather together.
- pksebben 5y agothat may be, but I'm totally on board with staggered, a la carte breaks. Esp. considering how many work in places that are mission-critical (or service industry) and don't take the same time off. Moreover, I find (for myself) very little celebratable about a time of year that : - it's more expensive to fly during - revolves around buying, just, stuff. Viva la holiday revolucion. Let's all pick times that work for us and our loved ones and get off the monoculture train.
- piva00 5y agoMy employer has a pretty good policy for that: you can bank any holiday, work on it and take the date later as you wish. It's great for other religions, non-religious people, etc., you can choose to re-use any holiday as you wish. Would that be a part of your holiday revolución? :P
- pksebben 5y agoHells yeah it would! That's really great - it adds flexibility while not clobbering what other people value. What an elegant solution.
- twicetwice 5y agoIt's a Schelling point.
- 5y ago