Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Shuttle roll maneuver
Message-ID: <1989Nov4.073508.10143@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <1989Oct31.002441.7817@utzoo.uucp> <1758@cfa237.cfa250.harvard.edu> <7255@ingr.com>
Date: Sat, 4 Nov 89 07:35:08 GMT

In article <7255@ingr.com> hovanes@ingr.com (Kenneth Hovanes 7938) writes:
>From what I understand the roll manuver is not because of the design of
>the launch pad.  The roll manuver is designed to allow th pilot of the
>shuttle to watch the ocean, thereby seeing where he is during launch.

You've missed the point:  why not just rotate the pad so the roll is
unnecessary?  I.e., start the launch with the orbiter's back facing
the ocean?  The answer is, because use of existing pad facilities
imposed constraints that made this difficult.

Also, I doubt the explanation.  The pilots have displays that tell
them much more of what they need to know than they would get by
looking out the window.  I went and [gasp!] looked it up, just to
confirm my recollection:  the main reason for the roll is simply
that most of the communications antennas are on the orbiter, and
keeping them in line of sight of ground stations requires that the
orbiter be on the underside of the shuttle assembly during ascent.
-- 
A bit of tolerance is worth a  |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
megabyte of flaming.           | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu