To fly or not to fly? That is the question...

No, I'm not going to write a parody of the quote!

It occurred to me, reading the report of the required imagery needed at
launch etc, that effectively, this precludes a launch at night, with any
cloud or with poor visibility. So effectively, the launch opportunities will
be much fewer than now. How will this impact on the way missions are
planned, I wonder.

As an aside, those out there as old as me, will remember that Apollo launch
under what looked like almost 100% cloud cover, in half light in which the
vehicle was struck by lightening as it entered the cloud. I recall the
comments from the crew about 'everything in the world dropped out, and maybe
we need some more all weather testing'

One is forced to wonder if that launch was in fact 'safe' and with hindsight
displays the same gung ho tendency that seems to prevail at times within
Nasa.

Just a comment.

Brian

--
Brian Gaff....
graphics are great, but the blind can't hear them
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No, I'm not going to write a parody of the quote!

I am glad. I thought you were referring to aliens. I definitely do not
approve of that sort of thing. You know interstellar marriages just never
work.





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When Apollo 12 demonstrated this effect, NASA changed its launch rules to
disallow any launches through cloud decks that might be electrically charged.
In fact, Apollo 14's launch was delayed by approximately 40 minutes to allow
such a cloud deck to clear.


Well, you know the saying about those who forget the past?

In 1986 or so, there was an Atlas launched in the rain. Same exhaust-enabling
lightning effect as with Apollo-12. But unlike on Apollo 12, it resulted in the
Atlas going out of control and breaking up/crashing.

- George Gassaway