Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!henry.jpl.nasa.gov!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jpl-devvax!lwall
From: lwall@jpl-devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV (Larry Wall)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: Shuttle roll maneuver
Message-ID: <6371@jpl-devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV>
Date: 1 Nov 89 20:40:52 GMT
References: <1989Oct31.002441.7817@utzoo.uucp> <1758@cfa237.cfa250.harvard.edu>
Reply-To: lwall@jpl-devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV (Larry Wall)
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
Lines: 10

So why don't they put airport runways on a big turntable so they can
always point the airplane the direction it wants to go?

If you've already gotta have a control system on the craft, good enough that
it doesn't (hopefully) have to do anything heroic to control the orientation
of the craft, why build a ground system to do the same thing, just to
make it a teensy weensy bit easier on the craft?

Larry Wall
lwall@jpl-devvax.jpl.nasa.gov