(John) wrote in
om:

I was under the impression that *only* STS-114 had the daytime launch
requirement....from then on out it'll be back to whenever is
necessary.

The daytime launch requirement will remain in place until NASA is confident
that it can get adequate ascent photography at night.

Hubble repair flights have all launched and landed at night, but I'm
sure that's more of a coincidence...or is it??

Ground-up rendezvous launch windows shift predictably around the clock due
to the Earth's equatorial bulge. The shift is a function of the altitude
and inclination of the target vehicle's orbit: ~24 minutes per day for ISS,
~30 for HST. So, whether a given launch occurs during day or night depends
totally on the launch date.


--
JRF

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