Since a fair number of my stories involve craft launched from the earth into space, I was wondering what the deal is with weather conditions. Is it possible or practical to launch craft in storms?
What are the dangers of high lateral wind, technically speaking. I assume it's something to do with blowing the craft of course, but would there be oppurtunities to correct before reaching space?
:: stepping in with a few physics courses under my belt ::
It's a matter of vectors. If you've got a vector normal to the surface representing the force of takeoff and then a vector parallel with the surface representing the force of lateral winds acting on it, you're going to have to spend more energy to overcome the second vector.
People smarter than me, correct me if I'm wrong kthxbai.
But the siting of your space port is also critical for regular and successful ground-to-orbit launches. Ideally, you want to be near the equator, in a region where there is a low incidence of violent storms such as hurricanes.
So, what would we need before ground-to-space launches could go up in high winds?
Florida was a good choice, then
Say we're launching an out-and back orbital shuttle of ideal design, what are some reasonable payloads and fuel loads if we refuel after every launch?