rtphokie":230aq350 said:
I've got launch tickets for STS-127 and am making hotel reservations and am trying to determine how many days I should book. If the launch is scrubbed on 6/13 when would they likely try again? The next day?
I see on the NASA website that the launch window is 10 minutes, where can I find what the next launch window is? This would help me make my hotel decisions.
Hi Rtphokie,
Here is the rundown on the launch window for STS-127 as NASA currently plans:
The window in June is fairly slim, only 3 days, from June 13 to June 15. If the shuttle doesn't launch by then, NASA currently plans to stand down until July 12 because another NASA mission - the moon-bound LRO/LCROSS flight - is slated to launch on June 17 from the nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station atop an unmanned rocket.
NASA's Kennedy Space Center and the Air Force Station share the same Eastern Launch Range over the Atlantic Ocean, and the LRO mission has the range throughout the bulk of late July. There may be some wiggle room, but not much, NASA says.
Everything for Endeavour (the shuttle to fly) must also go near perfect to make June 13. The shuttle was slated to move to Pad 39A on Saturday, but bad weather in Florida has pushed that to Sunday at the earliest.
NASA is hopeful technicians can make up the lost time and still target June 13, but more delays may begin to endanger the June 13 target.
Muddying the water is the planned return of the shuttle Atlantis from California atop its jumbo jet carrier craft. That flight could return Atlantis to the Kennedy Space Center as early as Monday, and NASA wants to study a wiring problem on Atlantis to make sure Endeavour doesn't have the same problem. It is likely not a major concern, so may not affect anything, but it is something NASA is watching, per the agency's shuttle chief John Shannon yesterday.
This is probably a lot more info than you wanted to know.
Suffice to say, the window to launch Endeavour on STS-127 runs from June 13 to June 15, with the potential to slip to July 12. If you want to book a hotel, booking it for the June days is smart and you can always leave early (hopefully without a penalty).
NOTE: If NASA does try to to launch in June and can't, you might have to buy new tickets in July should you try to attend then too at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex.
Hope that helps and happy launch viewing!
Cheers,
Tariq Malik
SPACE.com Senior Editor