why does the space shuttle always leave from florida?

Answer 1

They want to launch as close to the equator as possible and still be in the US. The reason is that at the equator, everything is moving at around 1000 mph. At New York it's about 700 mph. So rockets get a little extra boost to their 18,000 mph speed when close to the equator.

Answer 2

the space shuttle launches from Cape Canaveral Flordia because thats where the launch pads (39A/B are) also because it is close to the equator.. there are also several factors that go into deciding when the shuttle should launch, the main reason being that the space station has to be directly above (or almost directly) the Kennedy Space Centre to use up less fuel that way, also, the launch pads have to be near the ocean because when the solid rocket boosters jettison from the shuttle's External Tank they fall into the ocean

another fact, unrelated to this question is that the Shuttle Landing Facility, the runway, is 15000 feet by 200 feet in dimensions

Answer 3

Ronin is correct.

Also, the shuttle launch facility at Vandenburg AFB was never completed. The USAF fouled up the design of the pad so it needed to be reworked. When the Challenger exploded in 1986, the project was cancelled.

As a result, the shuttle launch facility at the Cape is the only one where the shuttle can be launched.

Answer 4

The Air Force built a second shuttle launch facility at Vandenburg AFB in California back in the early days of the shuttle program. Shuttles carrying military payloads, or those that needed to go into a polar orbit would be launched from Vandenburg. The facility was never used.

Answer 5

Nick is only partially right. One consideration is the nearness to the equator, the extra boost of the earth's rotation is significant.

But others are right too. Florida is near the sea so problems will fall there rather than on populated areas. The weather does tend to be moderate and predictable (they can see the hurricanes heading in well in advance). When they set it up there the population was low, so land was available and cheap. All these were considerations. After all, Texas is as far south. I think Hawaii is even better, if there were no other considerations why not choose one of the smaller islands? Too far, another consideration.

Answer 6

Adding to some good answers above:

It would cost billions to set up another launch site anywhere else in USA.

The Cape is where the US space program has operated out of since the late 1950's.

Answer 7

Because there is where NASA is. But that is not the only place. Many spacecrafts leave from Baikonur and Plesetsk in Russia. Florida's is a kind of "celebrity" cosmodrome. The famous one.

Answer 8

That's where NASA chooses to launch it from for a number of reasons, including that its the closest place to the equator in the US where the launch path takes it over ocean in such a way as to benefit from the Earth's rotation. It saves fuel this way and is thus cheaper to launch. Also, its safer, since the launch goes over unpopulated ocean instead of the mainland of America.

Answer 9

because it is nicer in florida !because that is where Nasa is
and the guys can party on the beach before going up .!

Answer 10

My guess is it doesn't freeze much so it will not harm the shuttle. I am not sure.