I used to love watching shuttle launches, and they would sometimes delay missions a day or two due to weather, even if the rain/snow would be over in a few hours. Why couldn’t they just wait instead of delaying?
In: Planetary Science
Think of it like a bus you want to catch as it orbits around the earth. However once you leave you can’t stop walking although you can change your pace slightly.
The bus goes along its route but it’s only near your stop for a short period of time. If you aren’t there at the time you can’t get on. You can’t get there early as you would have to keep walking so would need to leave the bus stop.
The distances and speeds involved are so big that you can’t go significantly late or early without being a long way away. The earth makes a rotation in 24 hours so if you are 2 hours late you are nearly 10% of the earth away from where you want to be.
As well as having to make sure all the other things around the launch are clear such as the airspace, emergency services and potentially where the rocket might land if things go wrong
Latest Answers