There are many reasons why NASA’s scheduled rocket launches will be cleaned up. Artemis 1’s scheduled launch for Monday morning was delayed until at least Friday due to a series of mechanical problems. But even before that, we saw another potential threat to launch plans: lightning. Several glowing bolts were caught on camera Saturday, striking large towers located around the launch pad. These towers are specifically designed to deflect lightning from the rocket and other important structures on the platform. NASA has very strict criteria for launch time. This includes holding a launch if there is a threat or detection of lightning within 10 nautical miles of a flight path. According to meteorologist Chris Vagasky, who specializes in lightning data applications, Florida sees an average of 14 million lightning strikes each year. “Lightning is a daily concern in the summer in Florida where there are interactions between the land and the sea breeze.” Vagasky said. “You can time your watch.” Given this high risk, why does NASA use the Kennedy Space Center as its primary launch facility? There are two big reasons: public safety and fuel efficiency. Cape Canaveral’s location on the Atlantic coast puts launch paths over the open ocean. If something went wrong, it would happen over water instead of populated land areas. NASA Kennedy is also about as far south as you can get in the continental United States. it helps give a rocket extra boost with the Earth’s rotation. This is because areas closer to the equator rotate around the Earth’s axis faster than areas closer to the poles. For example, if you were on the ground. in Sacramento, you’d be cruising at about 750 mph around the Earth’s axis. At Cape Canaveral, you’d be turning at about 900 mph. The difference is small relative to the 25,000 mph speed required for Artemis 1 to leave Earth’s gravity, but every bit counts when it comes to saving rocket fuel. So, despite the risk of lightning, NASA Kennedy is well positioned to carry out rocket launches. Vagasky said as we head into September, the risk of lightning on Florida’s Atlantic coast slowly decreases as we lose some of the heat that fuels the storms. For now, Vagasky said the weather outlook is favorable for a possible Friday launch window.
There are many reasons why NASA’s scheduled rocket launches will be cleaned up.
Artemis 1’s scheduled launch for Monday morning was delayed until at least Friday due to a series of mechanical problems. But even before that, we saw another potential threat to launch plans: lightning.
Several glowing bolts were caught on camera Saturday, striking large towers located around the launch pad. These towers are specifically designed to deflect lightning from the rocket and other important structures on the platform.
NASA has very strict criteria for launch time. This includes holding a launch if there is a threat or detection of lightning within 10 nautical miles of a flight path.
According to meteorologist Chris Vagasky, who specializes in lightning data applications, Florida sees an average of 14 million lightning strikes each year.
“Lightning is a concern every day in the summer in Florida, where there are interactions between the land and the sea breeze,” Vagasky said. “You can time your watch.”
This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you can find more information on their website.
Given this high risk, why does NASA use the Kennedy Space Center as its primary launch facility? There are two big reasons: public safety and fuel efficiency.
Cape Canaveral’s location on the Atlantic coast puts launch paths over the open ocean. If something went wrong, it would happen over water rather than in populated areas.
NASA Kennedy is also as far south as you can get in the continental United States. This helps give a little extra boost to the Earth’s rotation. This is because areas closer to the equator rotate around the Earth’s axis faster than areas closer to the poles. For example, if you were on the ground in Sacramento, you would be traveling at about 750 mph around the Earth’s axis. At Cape Canaveral, you’d be turning at about 900 mph.
The difference is small relative to the 25,000 mph speed required for Artemis 1 to leave Earth’s gravity, but every bit counts when it comes to saving rocket fuel.
So, despite the risk of lightning, NASA Kennedy is well positioned for rocket launches.
Vagasky said as we head into September, the risk of lightning on Florida’s Atlantic coast slowly decreases as we lose some of the heat that fuels the storms. For now, Vagasky said the weather outlook is favorable for a possible Friday launch window.