In sci.space.shuttle message ,
Thu, 21 Dec 2006 12:07:54, MichaelJP wrote:

"Matthew Sylvester" wrote in message
news:1hqovop.a25fvz1gskuriN%matthew.sylvester@gma il.com...
Brian Lawrence wrote:

It stopped off at RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire.

Is Fairford still a TAL site?

Its on the list, but its so far north I believe it can be reached only for
high-inclination launches.

If it ever happened, there would be the biggest invasion of plane spotters
the UK had ever seen

ISS passes to the North of me on some orbits; on Boxing Day it will
culminate at 82 degrees altitude, to the NNE; that's around 1/7 radian
past straight up. ISS is about 350 km high, so it must pass, at
maximum, about 50 km north of here. Fairford itself is 32 km north of
here, and also some distance west. The runway cannot be all that far
from the village/town.

Globe and string indicate that a north-easterly launch into the ISS
plane will be furthest north soon before reaching Ireland, so little
cross-range would be needed to get into Fairford (or Shannon) for any
planned launch, except to Hubble; or to get there after reaching ISS
orbit.


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