|
STS-98
Launch Windows
COMPILED
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
Updated: February 5, 2001
Revision
History:
01/03: Posting initial launch window chart
01/10: Updating launch windows
01/12: Updating window open/close times
01/15: Launch delayed to no earlier than February 6
01/17: Updating with revised launch windows for February 6 through 13
01/22: Updating based on latest rendezvous phase angle projections; a
flight-day-three rendezvous does not appear to be possible for a launch
on February 6
01/25: Reflecting launch slip to February 7
01/30: Updating with latest NASA data (one-second tweak)
02/05: Updating with latest NASA data (one-second tweak)
General Notes:
The shuttle
launch period, i.e.,the time in which a shuttle can take off and still
reach the international space station, is roughly 10 minutes long. But
NASA managers recently decided to target all ISS flights for takeoff the
moment Earth's rotation carries the launch pad into the plane of the station's
orbit. This "in plane" time marks the opening of the actual launch window.
Launching directly into the station's orbital plane minimizes the amount
of propellant required and improves the odds of reaching the target even
with a main engine performance shortfall. The downside is a shortened
launch window. Space station launch windows can be as short as two-and-a-half
minutes or as long as five minutes. The duration of the STS-98 launch
window on any given day will not be determined until after the shuttle
is fueled for flight. The chart below lists the end of the theoretical
10-minute window and which flight day the shuttle will dock with the space
station.
| Date |
Window
Open |
Launch
|
Window
Close |
ISS
Dock |
| |
|
|
|
|
| 02/07 |
06:06:16
p.m. |
06:11:16
p.m. |
06:16:16
p.m. |
FD-3 |
| 02/08 |
05:43:41
p.m. |
05:48:41
p.m. |
05:53:41
p.m. |
FD-3 |
| 02/09 |
05:21:06
p.m. |
05:26:06
p.m. |
05:31:06
p.m. |
FD-4 |
| 02/10 |
04:55:23
p.m. |
05:00:23
p.m. |
05:05:23
p.m. |
FD-3 |
| 02/11 |
04:32:49
p.m. |
04:37:49
p.m. |
04:42:49
p.m. |
FD-4 |
| 02/12 |
04:07:06
p.m. |
04:12:06
p.m. |
04:17:06
p.m. |
FD-3 |
| 02/13 |
03:44:31
p.m. |
03:49:31
p.m. |
03:54:31
p.m. |
FD-4 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
