Dennis Threatens Discovery Launch Date

BitFluid writes "According to CNN.com, hurricane Dennis is casting doubt on the shuttle's July 13th launch date. From the article: 'NASA has until the end of July to send Discovery on a flight to the international space station, otherwise it must wait until September to ensure a daylight launch.' Shuttle managers decided Thursday evening to begin initial preparations to move Discovery from the pad, as the hurricane increased in intensity and headed toward the Gulf of Mexico and Florida's southern tip. NASA spokesman George Diller said, 'We're going to keep our options open. We're still trying to protect the 13th.'"

Poor Location

[darth_MALL]

Why, again, are NASA launches based in Florida? They always seem to schedule launches during the 'hurricane season'
Why don't they pack up shop and move to Texas or New Mexico? If they can set off a nuke there, I think a rocket accident is the least of their worries.

It's better for them to wait..

[CyricZ]

... than to destroy yet another shuttle.

Re:Some more info...

[Iriel]

Considering that I've seen a good number of articles about NASA trying to quell fears about launch activity after the last major crash, I would would be inclined to think that half of thier decision is based on safety and half on PR (based upon your geographic information). There's always the chance for the unexpected to happen, and people know that. As long as some are still skeptical about another trip, I don't NASA wants to take any chances or 'scare the children' while their at it.

Hmm...

[Laivincolmo]

It seems to me that Mother Nature is a little bit reluctant to let her children leave home and grow up...

Re:Poor Location

[FatAlb3rt]

Politics is what put JSC in Houston. Geography by way of physics is what put KSC in Florida.

Re:Poor Location

[Otter]

Why don't they pack up shop and move to Texas or New Mexico? If they can set off a nuke there, I think a rocket accident is the least of their worries.

I think because if a down-range accident happens, you want the wreckage to land in the ocean, not on Phoenix or Ciudad Juarez.

Re:Poor Location

[sholden]

Recovering and reusing the boosters after they smash into the ground at 55 mph would be problematic.

Re:Poor Location

[Enigma_Man]

Continental US, where it's easy to build gigantic things like rockets, and have the goods and materials shipped to you via train. Hawaii is only marginally more southern, only gives a couple extra MPH on an eastern launch, and is much more isolated.

-Jesse

Re:Some more info...

[EnronHaliburton2004]

half on PR

Well can you blame them?

The President shut down the Shuttle program after the last crash. Of COURSE it's PR. But if they don't take every single stupid precaution, NASA will get shut down immediately, which means that there won't be a US space program until the private space businesses catch up, if they ever do.

Our society is incredibly risk-adverse today, and they don't seem to understand that travelling to space is a very dangerous business. The astronauts all know that, and they chose to take the risk.

In the past, how many explorers lost their lives when travelling across the great oceans? None of us would be here today if some big beureaucratic government kept the boat in the dock until the sailors fixed every little flaw in the boat.

Re:Why the time pressure?

[fnj]

The ISS is never hovering over China because it is never hovering over anywhere. It has an orbital period of 90 minutes. Thus it crosses the longitude of Cape Canaveral more than a dozen times every single day. The trick is in matching up the latitude.