Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: When does the official name change?
Message-ID: <1989Nov21.051136.18065@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <Nov.18.22.31.35.1989.20918@hardees.rutgers.edu> <7036@pt.cs.cmu.edu> <2394@cbnewsj.ATT.COM>
Date: Tue, 21 Nov 89 05:11:36 GMT

In article <2394@cbnewsj.ATT.COM> johna@cbnewsj.ATT.COM (john.a.welsh) writes:
>When if ever will they start regularly landing the shuttles at that
>landing strip in Florida?  How far is it from the VAB at Kennedy?

It's right next door to the VAB.  NASA originally wanted to land most
every shuttle there, to save transportation problems.  This plan is on
the shelf, probably permanently, as a result of post-Challenger safety
reviews.  The fact is, KSC is a lousy place to land a shuttle.  Most
especially and in particular, it is quite possible to get a surprise
thunderstorm brewing up between retrofire and landing.  KSC gets *lots*
of short-notice thunderstorms.  At Edwards the weather is much more
predictable -- and usually perfect -- and the runways are much longer
and run in various directions to suit current winds.  Edwards is the
primary landing site for the foreseeable future.
-- 
A bit of tolerance is worth a  |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
megabyte of flaming.           | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu
