Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Why is the orbiter launched upside down?
Message-ID: <1990Sep7.042319.22900@zoo.toronto.edu>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <1013@dcl-vitus.comp.lancs.ac.uk>
Date: Fri, 7 Sep 90 04:23:19 GMT

In article <1013@dcl-vitus.comp.lancs.ac.uk> alan@comp.lancs.ac.uk (Alan Phillips) writes:
>Why does the stack roll after lift off to bring the orbiter upside down?

The major reason is simply that flying "right side up" would put the
external tank between the orbiter's radio antennas and the ground stations.
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