Robert@sri-unix (07/06/82)
I found the info I was requesting. The closing speed of the shuttle and booster was 6,100 MPH. Since each craft was going 17,000 MPH, I conclude they were both in roughly eastward orbits but at an angle of roughly 20 degrees at the point of crossing. The figure of "17,000 MPH each" that was blasted by the TV was misleading without the closing speed also listed, but 6,100 MPH would still have been catastrophic if they had collided.