Why are the launch and landing sites for the space shuttle so close to the coastline?

Question

I ask this question after seeing the shuttle being moved back and forth from the launchpad due to Hurricane Ernesto. That must have cost millions in gas just to make that approx. two mile (or whatever it is) trip to the hangar. Why not have the launch and landing sites in a more stable weather environment? Is there some benefit to having the space centers close to the oceans? Are the space centers evolving around where the scientists and engineers like to live?

Answer 1

There are a few reasons for a space center being in Florida:

First, rocket parts are usually floated in on barges since they're so big. So the space center needs to be near a body of water (as you'll notice most space centers are - even the ones that don't launch rockets).

Second, when the shuttle and other rockets launch (the shuttle isn't the only one), they launch in stages - that is, they drop off expended fuel tanks along the way. You wouldn't want these falling down on the corner of Main and 3rd in Topeka, Kansas. The more unfortunate side to this reason is that if there is a launch failure, debris does not fall on to populated areas, it falls in the ocean.

Third, why in such a mild climate? Not by the employees' request, I can assure you. Mechanical parts don't like freezing weather. One of the causes of the Challenger accident was attributed to the low temperatures on launch day. Being in a Southwern climate allows for more launch opportunities since the weather is agreeable more often. The drawback is the occational hurricane does swing by, but at least those are somewhat predictable.

Fourth, why so far south, and why the east coast? The Earth turns west to east, and it's actually turning pretty quickly (try running around the world in 24 hours along the equator!). The rockets use the boost from the Earth's rotation to save fuel on the way to orbit. The boost is the greatest the closer to the equator you are, and much weaker as you get near the poles (try running around the North Pole in 24 hours - easy!). We already know that we want to launch over water, so the southernmost east coast is the best possible launch site for most Earth orbiting rockets. Congratulations, Florida!

Answer 2

As others above said, we launch from the east coast in case there is an accident. Also, it is logical to land at the same place you launch from so you don't have to cart the shuttle back home - although there are alternate landing sites (CA for one) in case the weather is continuously bad in FL.

More stable weather? Well, staying on the east coast the weather doesn't get much nicer, and the farther north you go the colder it gets, and we've seen the unfortunate consequences when the shuttle launches when it's too cold (the Challenger tragedy).

In the 60s (50s?) when the Kennedy Space Center was built there weren't too many people living in that part of Florida, so that's another factor. I'll bet the fact that Florida is so flat played a role in the decision, too. Also, at that time in America's history the south was desperate for jobs, so the location of several NASA centers in the south had political and economic incentives.

Doh! I forgot about the closer to the equator part, too!

Answer 3

It's not so much a question of being close to the ocean, although the poster above who cited the possibility of an accident is right: let the pieces fall into the ocean rather than a populated area.

Cape Canaveral is in Florida because it's so far south in the USA. It was originally a missile testing range that was later converted to the spaceport we know today.

In Jules Verne's 1865 novel "From the Earth to the Moon," he describes his rocket taking off from "Tampa Town"; part of the reason is because the southern latitude allows the rocket to get a little more momentum from the earth spinning, as it launches eastward into the sky. In fact, there are several items in the story that could be considered prescient.

Answer 4

The launch pad is located away from things like populated areas and other buildings and the most important the tanks storing the liquid hydrogen and oxygen. A friend of mine worked down at KSC for awhile. They have somewhat amusing safety videos. We are all familiar with the "please proceed in a calm and orderly fashion to the nearest exit" in case of fire or something. Well, NASA videos say to run as fast as is possible to the marshalling area in case certain warning sirens sound. One of those tanks of liquid oxygen igniting would cause a very very big hole in the ground.

The reason most nations' space agencies put their launch facilites close to the equator is a factor of momentum. At the equator, the surface of the earth is spinning around on its axis at approx 1,000 mph. Instead of a rocket having a starting velocity of 0 at say the North Pole, at the equator a rocket has an initial velocity of 1,000mph. It is easier energy-wise to add to the velocity of a moving object than it is to initially get the object moving. Ever push a car that was out of gas. Getting it rolling is harder than keeping it rolling--okay okay unless it is uphill. You know: An object in motion etc etc.

The reason launch facilites are located usually on eastern seaboards is that the velocity of the rocket sitting on the launch pad is just like that of the earth's surface---moving towards the East. So, if anything happens to the rocket after launch that causes it to have to be destroyed, hopefully debris will fall into the ocean instead of on top of populated areas.
And, when the Space Center was first built on Cape Canaveral, the city of Cocoa Beach wasn't much more than a one traffic light town. The cities of Titusville and Cocoa grew into what they are because of the influx of NASA employees, contractors and families.

And speaking of hurricanes, gotta go check the noaa.gov site to see where this things going and see if I have to pull things in off of my deck. It sucks, but the weather is nice more often than not here in the sunshine state.

Answer 5

Having the launch and land sites near the coast is for the safety of civilians. When rockets were launched in the 60's there were many mis-fires, which thankfully were unmanned and crashed over water where no one could get hurt. Also, by the peices landing in water, they were more likely to be less damaged than hitting a hard surfaced Earth.

Answer 6

One reason that the launch side is Cape Kennedy is due to orbital mechanics. The closer you are to the equator, the less energy your rocket has to expend to get you into space (this is why there is another facility at Vandenberg AFB, and why the French have their launch facilities in South America.).

Also, there is a nice big ocean out there....therefore if something were to go wrong in flight, the rocket can be steered out to sea and detonated (if unmanned) or a crew can bail out (if a shuttle flight).

Answer 7

It has to do with the possibility that it may explode over the ocean on take off as it did once, . And should it explode or catch on fire on the launch pad, the sand and water will help contain the damage and protect the public.

Answer 8

As previously posted- safety. However- the more interesting question is why Florida? Jules Verne predicted that location 100 years before we developed a lauch site there.

answer: we use the velocity of the earth's rotation to help us get out of orbit. The closer to the equator- the faster you're moving. :)


Oh darn. Claude beat me to it! a thumbs up to you.

Answer 9

too many questions. but the main reason for the coast line launch sites (in the usa at least) has to do with sfey, in case something goes wrong, they can blow up the darn thing and not have debris fall over land.

Answer 10

would you rather it next to your house?