Re:SpaceX Soft Lands Falcon 9 Rocket First Stage
by washedup on Tuesday July 22, 2014 @04:49PM
(#8071476)
Vandenburg AFB is used for placing payloads in polar orbits, which means they launch north/south. However, because of the population centers north of the AFB, they generally launch all vehicles south. This mean launches will happen over the Pacific Ocean, and they would not recover the first stage in the high deserts of California or Nevada.
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Re:SpaceX Soft Lands Falcon 9 Rocket First Stage
by seanflyon on Wednesday July 23, 2014 @01:56PM
(#8075806)
Unless they did something different from what others normally do.
Re:SpaceX Soft Lands Falcon 9 Rocket First Stage
by ChuckMcM on Wednesday July 23, 2014 @09:13PM
(#8077797)
As washedup accurately points out they only launch south because in the event of a scrub they are over the ocean. And while Spacex could request an eastward flight plan, its unlikely the FAA would grant such a request because it is unlikely that SpaceX could assure them adequately that Bakersfield would not be at risk. For grins and giggles I confirmed this with the Air Force (their response was "Safety concerns restrict the available launches from this facility."
Interestingly SpacePort America (http://spaceportamerica.com/) has a similar problem, although if you look (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Spaceport+America/@33.0125...) you will see there isn't much east of it.