Even more OT, but along the same lines, I have often wondered if they have downrange abort sites for the X-37 should there be a failure, and it could glide to a nominated runway, as per Shuttle TALs? When Skylab crews launched, the USAF used to position helicopters in Cornwall - possibly Ireland, it is a long time ago! - for potential North Atlantic pick ups - I wonder if the same here? 73 Max ________________________________ From: Seesat-l <seesat-l-bounces+bmews=hotmail.com_at_satobs.org> on behalf of satcom ops via Seesat-l <seesat-l_at_satobs.org> Sent: 15 May 2020 14:07 To: seesat-l_at_satobs.org <seesat-l_at_satobs.org> Subject: OT : Space X Crew Dragon Late abort zone Hopefully not too far off topic here ... With the Dragon crew now in 14 day quarantine in advance of their mission a heads up for later this month when Space X will launch to the ISS This will be the first "manned" launch in nearly ten years , from Florida. Those who remember the days of the shuttle will be aware that a number of airfields in Europe were designated as abort/escape sites for the shuttle should problems arise before reaching orbit. Last year the first unmanned test took place and a notice to mariners issued had four ocean sectors , one of which described a point off the Irish coast about 150 miles abeam Shannon. 260952Z FEB 19 NAVAREA IV 134/19(GEN). WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC. EASTERN NORTH ATLANTIC. FLORIDA. CANADA. IRELAND. 1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING 020740Z TO 020820Z MAR, ALTERNATE 050630Z TO 050710Z MAR: A. IN AREA BOUND BY 28-37-00N 080-38-00W, 28-47-00N 080-31-00W, 28-56-00N 080-19-00W, 28-53-00N 080-16-00W, 28-41-00N 080-23-00W, 28-35-00N 080-27-00W, 28-34-00N 080-37-00W. B. IN AREA BOUND BY 31-21-00N 077-35-00W, 31-50-00N 077-13-00W, 32-06-00N 076-31-00W, 31-58-00N 076-24-00W, 31-28-00N 076-54-00W, 31-11-00N 077-26-00W. C. IN AREA BETWEEN 47-58-35N 46-35-21N AND 051-18-33W 049-30-08W. D. IN AREA BETWEEN 53-01-57N 51-30-47N AND 011-50-53W 011- This inferred that the area off the coast of Ireland could be a late abort zone for capsule recovery should the mission fail just prior to orbit insertion. The Space X capsule does not of course have the luxury of being able to glide down to a safe airfield , as did the shuttle , so in the event of a late abort it looks like the eastern Atlantic could come into play. This seems to be confirmed by a statement here..... "If required, thrusters on the Crew Dragon or Starliner spacecraft would fire after an abort to ensure the capsule lands within about 300 miles of eastern Canada or Ireland, NASA officials told CBS News. " https://eur05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fspaceflightnow.com%2F2020%2F01%2F16%2Fs&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cc32e35197ec2411d5b9808d7f8d13c81%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637251449850395438&sdata=LAwg8JWZFSzcosfdDlrinQrXc6Ty2u7oqlr%2FtU7hU1Y%3D&reserved=0 ... e-teams/ Despite enquiries to a number of agencies , Space X , NASA etc , over the last three weeks , unusually , no one has got back to me regarding the arrangements for late abort recovery. This is obviously an important part of the launch campaign/contingency. I wonder if anyone on list has any idea as to what arrangements have been made to deploy a SAR/recovery team to the eastern Atlantic in case of need. The launch campaign starts around the 22nd , with lift off on May 27th. Thanks and best wishes John -- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://eur05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.avast.com%2Fantivirus&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cc32e35197ec2411d5b9808d7f8d13c81%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637251449850395438&sdata=fIoLkQ63m2AQ4zRqDweF3yxWzpHJSlyFlVSvzkSb6g4%3D&reserved=0 _______________________________________________ Seesat-l mailing list https://eur05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmailman.satobs.org%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Fseesat-l&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cc32e35197ec2411d5b9808d7f8d13c81%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637251449850395438&sdata=4UJIYo%2FXQIr%2FA8wVEWQ7PBElJFW1DO1AWvGCIbkOJkc%3D&reserved=0 _______________________________________________ Seesat-l mailing list http://mailman.satobs.org/mailman/listinfo/seesat-lReceived on Fri May 15 2020 - 08:34:31 UTC
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