posted on Apr, 23 2008 @ 01:34 PM
reply to post by dave420
Apparently they also did some course plotting to go through the Van Allen belts where they weren't as thick. The belts aren't uniform. The link
above to the website which discusses radiation issues related to space flights goes into some detail about this.
You could avoid the belts entirely if you launched from either of the earth's poles, but there are other issues related to launching from those
points, beyond the simple one of extreme cold and it's effects. I think they might need much larger booster rockets to get off the planet from there,
if memory serves. The closer you are to the equator the more of a rotational boost you get on launch, I believe.
Just had a thought. I wonder if that last fact accounts for why the Russian rocket boosters have always been larger than those of the US. I think
virtually all of the former Soviet Union is above the lattitude of Florida.
[edit on 23-4-2008 by ipsedixit]