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Old August 9th 11, 04:39 AM posted to sci.space.policy
Orval Fairbairn
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Posts: 267
Default Chinese launch in bad weather

In article ci.org,
Anonymous wrote:

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n...rch/index.html

"Launching in a torrential rain and lightning storm, a Long March
rocket lifted off Tuesday from southwest China and successfully
released a navigation satellite in orbit, state-run media reported."

Are they taking huge risks or are their rockets that reliable?


Huge risks. T-storm wind gusts can overpower the controllability of a
rocket both at launch and at max Q. They could have lost the bird.