On 4/6/2013 7:09 PM, Fevric J. Glandules wrote:
Vaughn wrote:

On 3/30/2013 9:03 PM, Fevric J. Glandules wrote:
I Am Not A Rocket Scientist. But nonetheless, can anybody explain to
me why it has taken until 2013 to make 1960s technology do what it
could have done all along?

Ref:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21972804

Thanks to all who have responded with sensible replies.

I don't have time to find you a good reference, but there is actually
nothing new about the quick approach. The Soviets have long known how to
do it, and they used it with their own space habitats at least
occasionally.
Quick approach was used by NASA in Gemini missions (See reference below)


My understanding is that NASA kept the ISS in an
inconvenient orbit for that maneuver due to the needs of the shuttle.
Now that there is no shuttle, they have raised to orbit of the ISS,
making the "Soyuz short trip" possible.

I don't get this. ISS has been in the same orbit all along, with
varying altitude. Am I missing something?

I was referring to a change in altitude: From
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/...endezvous-iss/
"In order to achieve the fast rendezvous, which has been set at four
orbits, or six hours after launch, the ISS’ orbit must be in the optimal
plane on the day of launch of the chaser vehicle. This is achieved via
orbital adjustments to the ISS’ orbit via reboosts, which in order to
enable a fast rendezvous must begin six months prior to the planned
launch of the chaser vehicle."

Vaughn