Safety Design for Space Operations

Appendix A

Meteorology and Range Safety

Jerry Haber

Recognizing the importance of defining the environment through which launch vehicles must operate between surface and the upper regions of the atmosphere, NASA has published guidelines for addressing factors from winds to precipitation to earthquakes (NASA/TM-2008–215633). While the specific data in these publications have emphasized facilities in the United States, much of the material has broader applicability.

Unfortunately, no such comprehensive narrative and collection of environmental or meteorological data oriented toward range safety has been created. In the United States, many of the launch facilities publish guides to range users providing a level of guidance as to the range safety ...