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From: alb@alice.UucP (Adam L. Buchsbaum)
Newsgroups: net.columbia
Subject: Re: Satellite deployal and bad-weather launch
Message-ID: <4241@alice.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 29-Aug-85 23:58:40 EDT
Article-I.D.: alice.4241
Posted: Thu Aug 29 23:58:40 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 31-Aug-85 06:31:04 EDT
References: <1077@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Organization: Bell Labs, Murray Hill
Lines: 11

There are no plans now to purposely launch or land shuttles in
inclement weather.  For one thing, we know that the tiles absorb
water.  If launched in a rainstorm, that water would be carried
into orbit (1) making the craft heavier and placing it in a lower
orbit than planned and (2) the water would freeze in space and
then melt again during reentry; that wouldn't be good at all for
the tiles.  As for a practice bad weather landing, the proposal that
someday it will become necessary is not true.  There are backup
landing sites all over the world.  Plus, the shuttle can, in dire
emergency, land at almost any international airport.  So there are
enough spots to land so that at least one will be dry.