Launch Location: Newsletter Challenge (January 2015)

Yes, I live about 25 miles due south of the Apollo launch site and the Moon's zenith does appear to pass about strait up overhead.

I am also told by some long term residents here that the local historical weather conditions were another factor in the decision for the launch site. NASA does get a lot of electrical storms, but they do seem to be spared most of the hurricane damage that Florida seems to get.

You are absolutely right that the Hohmann transfer orbit used for the Moon shot is all about energy conservation.

Also, due to the rotation of the Earth, Canaveral has about a 170 miles/hour liftoff advantage in getting into orbit due its latitude. At Canaveral (28.5 deg N) the launchpad is already moving eastward at about 880 miles/hour, whereas the launchpad in Tyuratam (~45 deg N) is moving eastward at about 710 miles/hour.

Good Answer.

It stands to reason: when you launch, your "satellite" will be travelling in a plane defined by (1) The center of the earth, (2) The launch location, and (3) the direction of launch. To rendezvous with the moon, you have to be travelling in the plane of the moon's orbit. The planes are no where near parallel for the Russians launch location, no matter what the launch direction, whereas they very closely match for a launch from Cape Canaveral.

Another way to look at it is that the earth's gravity imparts a southern directional velocity when you launch from a high northern latitude (the earth's center is to the south). This velocity has to be cancelled out to rendezvous with the moon.

Does anyone know if this was a known given when the space center was first built/decided upon, or was it simply a lucky accident?

I had a look around and it appears to have been in use since sometime around the end of the 50s, but I could not find a definite date. But well before JFK's statement about going to the moon.

Many thanks for any help possible.

There were a lot of factors in the decision process, but the lunar orbit was not really one of them.

The main factors were:

1. Proximity to the equator
2. They wanted an eastern coast to avoid launching over populated areas.
3. The area (Brevard County) was virtually desolate at the time with no population.
4. There were several military air bases close by to provide logistical support.
5. There was already a road infrastructure in place to serve the military bases.
6. Water access to the facility via the ocean and Indian river that runs along the east Florida coast.

7. And the Atlantic Coast Railway had a rail line nearby.

That's right! I forgot about that, but there are a lot of lines running right through all the east coast cities here in Florida.

I just take them for granted.n That is, until you are stuck waiting for one. ;-)

the earth axis is declined by 27.5 degrees (not fahrenheit or celsius) and the moon's eclipse is declined by nearly 5° to the earth's ecliptic.

the latitude of CC 28.5° is inside the sum of earths axis angle and moons ecliptic angle 27.5+5=32.5°, this is not allways but often and by this reason the journey to the moon can start in cycles of 4 weeks only. It is optimal just only if moons ecliptic + earth axis is equal the CC-latitude.

I guess you just had a 'slip of the lip', because Earth's spin axis declination is about 23.45° relative to the ecliptic, not 27.5°, so the sum just about reaches the Cape's latitude.

-J