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
We will try analogy.
Imagine you’re on a field throwing a ball (payload, astronauts or satellite) to a friend (iss or particular orbit). If your friend is standing still, it’s easy. But your friends moving. Back and forth in front of you, always getting nearer or farther. To throw the heaviest ball using the least amount of strength (rocket fuel), you time your throw so that it reaches your friend when they are closest.
So far so good, humans can do that with a bit of practice. However we now add a scary wasp buzzing around you that could sting you if you throw near it (bad weather, a stuck valve or something that could make a gazillion dollar rocket and payload blow up). So you intentionally use a lighter ball so you have more strength to throw a bit earlier or later than the ideal time. That is the window.
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