Robert@sri-unix (07/06/82)
If both the shuttle and the old booster were traveling at 17,000 MPH in the same direction, their relative velocity would be zero and they could safely bump aside each other without damage, in fact we could grapple the booster with the canadarm and remove it from space. But the way the message was presented here (SPACE) and on comercial television made it sound like they were traveling in opposite directions, giving 34,000 MPH relative velocity, where even a loose dishrag could do considerable damage to a spaceship. But I consider that very unlikely since the shuttle was orbited in an eastward direction to take advantage of the Earth's rotation, just like most other satelites. In fact I've never heard of anything being orbited in a Westward direction. Polar orbits are possible, but the odds are against the booster being in a polar orbit. Mostly likely is that the booster and the shuttle were both going approximately the same directon, with their velocity difference being (in magnitude) some small fraction of their orbital velocity (like perhaps 170 MPH) which would still be dangerous in the event of of a collision between shuttle and booster but not as bad as the scare stories of 17,000 MPH each seem to imply. Does anybody know the correct relative velocity of this near-collision?