Shuttle Launch Visibility (Repost from Sept. 1997)

Mir16609 (Mir16609@aol.com)
Wed, 21 Jan 1998 14:07:04 EST

The launch is scheduled for Jan 22nd 9:48:16pm EST (2:48am Jan 23 UT).

The weather forecast for the the NE USA for this time period
is terrible. Clouds, rain, snow, sleet etc.

Let the record show that the plume was just as he described.

>From Qunister7@aol.com, 1997 Sep 24th
<cuts that reference the previous Mir Mission>

The Shuttle will be visible by virtue of the light emanating from its three
main engines.  It should appear as a very bright, pulsating, fast-moving
star, shining with a yellowish-orange glow.  The brightness should be at
least equal to the planet Jupiter.  Observers who train binoculars on the
Shuttle should be able to see it look like a tiny V-shaped contrail.

Along the Southeast U.S. coastline, anywhere north of Cape Canaveral, it is
suggested that you look low toward the south-southeast sky within 2 to 4
minutes after the launch (to the south of the Cape, look low toward the
north-northeast).  In the mid-Atlantic region, look toward the
south-southeast about 4 to 7 minutes after launch, while in the northeast
U.S., look low toward the south-southeast about 7 to 8 minutes after launch.

Atlantis will seem to "flicker," then abruptly wink-out 8 1/2 minutes after
launch as the main engines shut-down and the huge, orange, external tank is
jettisoned over the Atlantic at a point 415 miles southeast of New York City.
 At that moment, Atlantis will be at an altitude of 375,000 feet (71 statute
miles) and should be visible for a radius of 700 statute miles from the point
of main engine cutoff (MECO).  Of course. . . before hoping to see the
Shuttle streak across your local sky, you should make sure it has left the
launch pad!  Watch the launch on CNN, or listen to a radio station that is
covering it live.  Then head outside and start looking skyward.

             VISIBILITY DATA FOR SELECTED EAST COAST CITIES
                           
                       Time of closest
Location                Approach                      Max.Altitude
                       Azimuth
                       (T + Min.)                           (Deg.)
                       (Deg.)

Savannah, GA           T + 3.5                    10.2
                      142.6
Spartanburg, SC       T + 4.5                      4.4
                      137.3
Myrtle Beach, SC      T + 5.0                    13.8
                      140.7
Wilmington, NC        T + 5.5                    15.3
                      142.7
Greensboro, NC         T + 6.0                      6.6
                      128.0
Cape Hatteras, NC    T + 6.5                     22.1
                     146.6
Roanoke, VA             T + 6.5                       5.0
                     126.3
Norfolk, VA              T + 7.0                     11.9
                     129.5
Hagerstown, MD        T + 7.5                      5.0
                      129.8
Washington, DC         T + 7.5                      6.8
                      127.9
Philadelphia, PA       T + 8.0                      7.8
                      132.2
Atlantic City, NJ       T + 8.0                    10.0
                     131.9
New York City            T + 8.5                     8.0
                      129.6
Boston, MA                 T + 8.5                     7.8
                      160.8
Portland, ME               T + 8.5                     5.5
                      169.8

Don Gardner
Homepage:  http://members.aol.com/mir16609/
Mirror:  http://www.geoities.com/CapeCanaveral/9787/
39.1796 N; 76.8414 W;  34m ASL