From: jrs@merlyn.demon.co.uk   
      
   JRS:  In article <1117432904.066320.285480@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>   
   , dated Sun, 29 May 2005 23:01:44, seen in news:sci.space.tech, Charles   
   Talleyrand  posted :   
   >How does one launch a into a polar orbit from French Guyana?  Where   
   >does the first and second stage drop?  I understand they are not   
   >bombing New England, but how do they avoid this?   
   >   
   >Internet searches are not helping.   
      
   Try looking at an Atlas.  Kourou Town itself is at near enough 52.5 deg   
   W, and straight North from there touches, more or less, the outer corner   
   of Newfoundland, then, after a further distance, West Greenland.   
      
   The distance from Kourou to Newfoundland is not much less than that from   
   Canaveral to Europe/Africa; so either the Newfoundlanders don't have   
   anything to worry about, but we do.   
      
   Subject to adjustment for the position of the launch site with respect   
   to the town, the exact inclination of the desired orbit, the possibility   
   of a modest dog-leg, ...   
      
   AIUI, the first stage in each case drops much nearer to the launch site   
   than to anywhere ahead, and any subsequent stages are expected to go   
   much further and come down in fairly little bits, like STS ET.   
      
   --   
    © John Stockton, Surrey, UK.  ?@merlyn.demon.co.uk   Turnpike v4.00   MIME. ©   
    Web   - FAQqish topics, acronyms & links;   
     Astro stuff via astron-1.htm, gravity0.htm ; quotings.htm, pascal.htm, etc.   
    No Encoding. Quotes before replies. Snip well. Write clearly. Don't Mail News.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)