Southern California: Aerospace Capital of the World (Long Beach, Sacramento: elementary schools, salaries)

[Charles]

Originally Posted by mp3108r

The space shots are from Florida for one BIG reason. They didn't want the astronauts to cut through the lines of force of the Van Allen belt at a 90 degree angle. The closer to the pole the less radiation when cutting through the Van Allen belt.

That makes sense (though I don't know too much this science). Radiation hardening would add too much weight to the vehicle - even in today's designs such as the Orion capsule.

I think I read somewhere that in the space station, the galley is surrounded by water bottles (something like the low atomic number H in H20 blocks radiation). When there's a radiation "storm" the crew gathers in the galley.

[bhcompy]

Originally Posted by drunk on kool aid

I was always aware of the equatorial advantage in terms of rotational velocity. I was wondering if the 5 or 10 degrees of latitude difference between Southern Florida and the Mojave makes a very significant difference in the logistics (e.g. size of booster) needed for launch.

Having an ocean on the east makes sense, especially if there is a provision for ditching the spacecraft (only used for Mercury, I think).



I'm not sure if this is a misprint but are you saying that polar is better than equatorial to minimize Van Allen exposure? Wouldn't this argue against the Cape?

In any case, sure would have been cool to see rockets climbing into the sky from the L.A. basin.

Vandenberg was supposed to house the the west coast shuttle launch site, but was shut down despite the site being constructed for billions of dollars. Technically speaking, Florida probably would have still been the first option and Vandenberg would have probably only be used during months when poor weather is common in FLA

[Charles]

Originally Posted by bhcompy

Vandenberg was supposed to house the the west coast shuttle launch site, but was shut down despite the site being constructed for billions of dollars. Technically speaking, Florida probably would have still been the first option and Vandenberg would have probably only be used during months when poor weather is common in FLA

Vandenberg was considered for Shuttle launches into polar orbit.

[Charles]

"Why did Los Angeles become the aerospace capital of the world? The usual answer is the local climate, which provided good flying weather year-round. But one must also consider a long history of civic boosterism, from newspaper publishers and real-estate developers to Hollywood moguls; cheap land; local universities as suppliers of research, testing facilities, and technical labor; open-shop rules in the labor market; local military installations, which capitalized on their distance from Washington; and a culture of expansive imagination and entrepreneurialism."

from

The end of the Aerospace Century - LA Observed - Visiting bloggers

Other interesting blogs:

Why Long Beach Isn't Detroit - Reason Magazine

"The Industry" Leaves Southern California - Hit & Run : Reason Magazine

[ironjello]

this is a TOTALLY BOGUS ANSWER.
You launch from Florida, because it's closest to the equator and therefore add ~300 m/s of of "Delta V" to your launch vehicle.

If launching at a higher latitude was better, the US would launch all it's shuttles from the tip of Alaska, which it clearly does not.

[ironjello]

Technically speaking, Florida is the better choice than Vandenberg since a rocket with TONS of fuel landing in the ATLANTIC OCEAN is far safer than GALLONS of POISONOUS rocket fuel landing in the middle of Kansas City.

[ironjello]

i'd like to see that link, especially since the ISS is in LEO (low earth orbit), and LEO is INSIDE the Van Allen Belts, protecting the crew from 99% of radiation / micrometeorites / etc.
--which is one of the reasons why going to luna is so dangerous. you don't have the van allen belts to protect you.

[ironjello]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

I wonder how long LMSC will stick it out in Sunnyvale?

oops, almost thought you said "Palmdale"

well, sunnyvale = satellites mostly. i'd say fair/good chance.

[ironjello]

Originally Posted by Mercedes-Benz

Is this really the aerospace capital for the world? Maybe there are other places that have lots of aerospace besides here.

hm.
Texas - OMG huge. Houston (space) and Fort Worth (military)
Florida - mostly launch operations
Colorado - rockets and such
San Diego/LA - Space X (1st successful commercial market), Scaled Composites (WhiteKnight / Burt Rutan), JPL, General Atomics Aeronautics (Predator UAV), Edwards Air Force Base in Palmdale (test site),

others:
East Coast
Maryland/Virginia: Orbital Space Sciences, NASA Goddard, APL (rocktes and space)
Massachusetts area: Raytheon, radar and avionics
Connecticut and Ohio (not int he east coast i knwo): GE and Pratt Whitney engines

[Charles]

Local aerospace sector could get boost - LA Daily News