China's launching lattitude

Once upon a time, a scientist came to our school and talked about a
lot of things, one of them being the space program. He said that all
the American space centers were in the south, because the closer to
the equator you are, the easier it is to get into orbit. The earth
spins faster at the equator than at the poles, and some of that energy
gets lent to the rocket.

The Europeans have a space center in French Guiana, and the Soviets
had (have?) their space bases in Kazakhstan.

So when I saw a map of where the recent Chineese astronaut lifted off
from, I was suprised to see how far north it was. It's pretty much as
far north as you can get and still be in China.

So, was what I heard all those years ago false? or why are the
Chineese launching so far from the equator, when there's space
availiable further south?

The closer to the equator you launch from, the less energy it takes to get
to a non-inclined orbit (one that stays over the equator). This is
desirable when you want a geoynchronous satellite for communications, but
not important if you just want a space staion or a space presence.

"guy-jin" wrote in message
om...
Once upon a time, a scientist came to our school and talked about a
lot of things, one of them being the space program. He said that all
the American space centers were in the south, because the closer to
the equator you are, the easier it is to get into orbit. The earth
spins faster at the equator than at the poles, and some of that energy
gets lent to the rocket.

The Europeans have a space center in French Guiana, and the Soviets
had (have?) their space bases in Kazakhstan.

So when I saw a map of where the recent Chineese astronaut lifted off
from, I was suprised to see how far north it was. It's pretty much as
far north as you can get and still be in China.

So, was what I heard all those years ago false? or why are the
Chineese launching so far from the equator, when there's space
availiable further south?

(guy-jin) writes:

Once upon a time, a scientist came to our school and talked about a
lot of things, one of them being the space program. He said that all
the American space centers were in the south, because the closer to
the equator you are, the easier it is to get into orbit. The earth
spins faster at the equator than at the poles, and some of that energy
gets lent to the rocket.

The Europeans have a space center in French Guiana, and the Soviets
had (have?) their space bases in Kazakhstan.

So when I saw a map of where the recent Chineese astronaut lifted off
from, I was suprised to see how far north it was. It's pretty much as
far north as you can get and still be in China.

So, was what I heard all those years ago false?

No, they were not false. Overblown in importance, perhaps, but not false.


or why are the Chineese launching so far from the equator,
when there's space availiable further south?

Bureacracatic Paranoia and a desire for Extreme Secrecy and Lots of Elbow-Room.

There are Lots and Lots of People living further south in China, whereas the
Gobi Desert is just about as _isolated_ a place as one can find on this planet ---
very much like the Russian site in the former Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan...


-- Gordon D. Pusch

perl -e '$_ = \n"; s/NO\.//; s/SPAM\.//; print;'

guy-jin wrote:
Once upon a time, a scientist came to our school and talked about a
lot of things, one of them being the space program. He said that all
the American space centers were in the south, because the closer to
the equator you are, the easier it is to get into orbit. The earth
spins faster at the equator than at the poles, and some of that energy
gets lent to the rocket.

The Europeans have a space center in French Guiana, and the Soviets
had (have?) their space bases in Kazakhstan.

Baikonur is still where it has always been and in active use AFAIK.


So when I saw a map of where the recent Chineese astronaut lifted off
from, I was suprised to see how far north it was. It's pretty much as
far north as you can get and still be in China.

So, was what I heard all those years ago false? or why are the
Chineese launching so far from the equator, when there's space
availiable further south?

No, not false - just a simplified view. It also depends on the details
of the orbit you want to reach.

--
Sander

+++ Out of cheese error +++

In article ,
guy-jin wrote:
...He said that all
the American space centers were in the south, because the closer to
the equator you are, the easier it is to get into orbit...

True, and that's useful, but it's not necessarily of overwhelming
importance.

The US now has a small commercial spaceport at Kodiak Island, on the south
coast of Alaska -- selected for a long, clear launch path south over
water, something that's not easy to find in the US.

For many years, the world's busiest spaceport was Plesetsk, not far south
of the Arctic Circle -- selected because it was Russia's first ICBM base
and had to be in the far north because the R-7 ICBM didn't have the range
to reach most of the US from more convenient latitudes.

So when I saw a map of where the recent Chineese astronaut lifted off
from, I was suprised to see how far north it was. It's pretty much as
far north as you can get and still be in China.

China has three separate spaceports, in fact, although that one was the
first.

So, was what I heard all those years ago false? or why are the
Chineese launching so far from the equator, when there's space
availiable further south?

For the one class of launch where nearness to the equator really matters a
whole lot -- comsat launches to geostationary orbit -- they launch from
Xichang, in southern China.
--
MOST launched 30 June; first light, 29 July; 5arcsec | Henry Spencer
pointing, 10 Sept; first science, early Oct; all well. |

Multiple launch sites, just like the US and Russia.


(guy-jin) wrote in message . com...
Once upon a time, a scientist came to our school and talked about a
lot of things, one of them being the space program. He said that all
the American space centers were in the south, because the closer to
the equator you are, the easier it is to get into orbit. The earth
spins faster at the equator than at the poles, and some of that energy
gets lent to the rocket.

The Europeans have a space center in French Guiana, and the Soviets
had (have?) their space bases in Kazakhstan.

So when I saw a map of where the recent Chineese astronaut lifted off
from, I was suprised to see how far north it was. It's pretty much as
far north as you can get and still be in China.

So, was what I heard all those years ago false? or why are the
Chineese launching so far from the equator, when there's space
availiable further south?