Linked Questions

26 votes
3 answers
9k views

Why use a retrograde orbit?

I've been looking around and saw on What is the highest inclination orbit ever attained from a Cape Canaveral launch? a question about launching into retrograde orbit. Of course, due to range safety ...
user avatar
18 votes
1 answer
4k views

Why is 51.8° inclination standard for Soyuz?

Soyuz flights are mostly around 51.8° inclination, and the Soyuz manual gives this as a reference value. Why is 51.8° the standard inclination? That's not the latitude of Baikonur, and I couldn't find ...
Ken Shirriff's user avatar
12 votes
2 answers
3k views

How (the heck) are military satellites with (apparently) classified TLEs still showing up on sat map websites?

As I first noted in this comment I couldn't get TLEs for the recently launched OFEQ-11 spy satellites from space-track.com. When I looked at Search Resuls: OFEQ 11 Satellite details 2016-056A NORAD ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 148k
7 votes
2 answers
2k views

Negative impact of having the launch pad away from the Equator

I imagine a satellite meant for reaching a geostationary orbit will benefit most from it, but being near the Equator is surely an advantage to any space launch (right?). However, what's the impact ...
Quora Feans's user avatar
10 votes
2 answers
996 views

How are retrograde orbits attained?

If a satellite is to be inserted into a retrograde orbit (opposite to Earth rotation direction) is it accelerated straight in the desired "westwards" direction until (after overcoming Earth rotation ...
SF.'s user avatar
  • 54.9k
5 votes
1 answer
2k views

Are we changing Earth's rotation?

Can rockets launching change Earth's rotation, and can going into orbit do the same?
AndrewMaxwellRockets's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
843 views

Are there any dog-leg hot-spots? Where are dog-leg maneuvers used most frequently?

Dog-leg maneuvers are nicely explained in @JakeBlocker's excellent answer. If you go there now (and hopefully come back here) you can see a diagram of a dog-leg maneuver along with a comparison to an ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 148k
5 votes
3 answers
811 views

Are there terms for Earth orbits with rational number multiples of 1 sidereal day?

An Earth orbit with a period of 1 sidereal day (and zero inclination) is a geosynchronous orbit, orbits slightly above and below that are supersynchronous and subsynchronous orbits, and a Molniya ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 148k
2 votes
1 answer
2k views

Satellite Launch Direction

Most rockets hoping to achieve earth orbit are launched West -> East and from near the equator to gain maximum advantage from the spin of the Earth. I know the launches often also are deliberately ...
Tomi's user avatar
  • 153
3 votes
1 answer
314 views

What forces a spacecraft, returning from Earth orbit, to synchronize with Earth spin?

This seems like a banal question, but the more I think about it, the less I understand the mechanics of it. Does the progressively denser atmosphere pick up the spacecraft and carries it along the ...
Mitch99's user avatar
  • 513
1 vote
0 answers
78 views

Why no Ofeqs between 11 and 16?

Wikipedia's Ofeq; Launch History lists Ofeq 1 through 11 and then 16. It does not mention a 12, 13, 14 or 15. Were they so stealthily launched that nobody knows about them, or skipped, had non-Ofeq ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 148k