From: Henry Spencer <henry@zoo.toronto.edu>
Newsgroups: sci.space.tech
Subject: Re: Secret Dec 23rd launch from Vandenburg??
Date: Sat, 13 Jan 1996 19:22:03 GMT

In article <kenhDKxzGs.Iq4@netcom.com> kenh@netcom.com (Ken Harris) writes:
>	One point: I don't think there has ever been any manned launches
>into polar orbit.  I think there is danger of radiation around the magnetic
>poles.

Polar orbits involve generally greater radiation exposure, but that's not
severe enough to be a major problem.  The one serious hazard is the
possibility of a major solar flare occurring during the flight.  The way
you deal with that is to watch for it, and do an emergency descent if it
happens.

The reason there have been no polar-orbit manned launches yet is simply
that there has been no requirement for them.  Back when the USAF was still
planning heavy use of the shuttle, there was a requirement, and at the
time of the Challenger accident, the first polar-orbit shuttle launch
from Vandenberg was only a few months away.  In the retrenchment after
Challenger, the USAF's requirement went away.
-- 
The Earth is our mother.                           |       Henry Spencer
Our nine months are up...                          |   henry@zoo.toronto.edu