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CBS NEWS STS-129 Launch Windows
Last Updated: 11/16/09
Compiled by William Harwood
Changes and additions:
Editor's Note: 1. As of this writing, STS-129 cannot launch between Nov. 20 and Dec. 5 because the angle between the sun and the plane of the International Space Station's orbit - the beta angle - would result in out-of-limit temperatures for the docked shuttle-station stack. The December launch window closes after Dec. 11 to avoid a conflict between the shuttle and docking of a Soyuz crew ferry craft Dec. 22. 2. The launch window for STS-129 is 10 minutes long, roughly centered on the moment when Earth's rotation carries the launch pad into the plane of the space station's orbit. To optimize ascent performance, NASA targets the "in-plane" time.
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