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Missions to June 1999
Mission, Start Date, Finish Date, Inclination
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Orbit Details
In general, missions last from five to fifteen days. Once orbit has been reached, the main engines are cut off and the Shuttle orbits silently until it is time to descend. An orbit takes about 90 minutes. That's 16 orbits a day or about 160 orbits for a typical ten day mission. Since the Earth rotates beneath, new ground is passed over on successive orbits.The Earth eventually rotates back to approximately its position at launch and the Shuttle then begins passing close to tracks made 24 hours previously. Over the course of a full mission, the Shuttle covers most parts of the earth that lie between the maximum latitudes determined by its orbit inclination to the equator. Shuttle missions are launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, which is at Latidude 28.5° north. As a result, all missions are inclined by at least 28.5° to the equator. Some missions orbit at greater inclinations, up to a maximum of 58°. Prior to each Shuttle launch, details of orbits and ground tracks are announced on the Internet. The latitude of central Victoria is 36° south. Shuttle missions must be inclined by at least 36° to pass directly over central Victoria. |
