Mid-ocean object marked on NASA's Space Shuttle landing ground tracks

[wolfstu]

NASA has published the ground tracks for the landing of Atlantis at the end of STS-122 here.

On the long-range tracks for landing at Kennedy Space Centre, there’s a red region indicated in the Atlantic ocean, south of Nova Scotia. Does anybody know what this marking indicates?

[Danalan]

@wolfstu

NASA has published the ground tracks for the landing of Atlantis at the end of STS-122 here.

On the long-range tracks for landing at Kennedy Space Centre, there’s a red region indicated in the Atlantic ocean, south of Nova Scotia. Does anybody know what this marking indicates?

It’s on the STS-120 landing page ground tracks; STS118; STS114; etc/., so it’s not unique to this mission. The only thing I see on Google Earth that might be related is a weather bouy.

I think it’s an area, not an object. The cross in the center appears to be about 41’N, 65’W, but I’ve no idea why. Maybe a aircraft/ helo carrier is stationed there in case of a water ditch?

[An_Arky]

Sable Island seems to be nearby, don’t know if that has anything to do with it.

It seems to be where the continental shelf drops off, as well. Isn’t that where the fishermen/lobstermen tend to work?

[fiddlesticks]

Guesses:

1. It marks the point where the shuttle committed to re-entry on the previous orbit.
2. It marks the point where the shuttle would have committed to re-entry to land at Edwards in California had conditions at Cape Canaveral been unsuitable for landing there.

[wolfstu]

@fiddlesticks

Guesses:

1. It marks the point where the shuttle committed to re-entry on the previous orbit.
2. It marks the point where the shuttle would have committed to re-entry to land at Edwards in California had conditions at Cape Canaveral been unsuitable for landing there.

I’m pretty sure the deorbit burn happens more or less over the Indian Ocean, whether it’s landing in California or Florida. To do the deorbit burn over Nova Scotia, the Shuttle would have to make it all the way around the planet again in its descent to make it to the United States, and I don’t think that’s possible.

[Squink]

@An Arky

Sable Island seems to be nearby, don’t know if that has anything to do with it.

This is a little old:

The former Soviet MIR space station can easily be heard with its powerful FM signals on 143.625 MHz, but this channel is now only being used over Europe, when the station is in range of the ground station in the Crimea. Funding cuts dictated that the communications ships off Sable Island, Madeira, etc., which were relaying MIR by shortwave, are no longer operational.

Perhaps NASA has a ship out there again?

[Rick]

I was thinking that perhaps that red zone marked an area of no communication.

[DrFidelius]

The red zone is for loading and unloading only. There is no parking in the red zone.

[scr4]

The deorbit burn happens on the other side of the planet - the location is listed here.

It’s interesting that the red area is further south on the STS-115 ground tracks. Roughly the same shape too. So I don’t think it has to do with the coverage area of ground stations.

I think the communications ships mentioned above are Russian and unlikely to be involved in Shuttle operations, even if there are any left.

WAG: maybe that’s where the orbiter flips around in preparation for the deorbit burn?

[KCB615]

The red zone is for loading and unloading only. There is no parking in the red zone.

No, the white zone…

[Omphaloskeptic]

According to this guy, it’s the current and predicted positions of the shuttle at the time the image was made. It’s surprising to me that they show up on so many landing ground-track images; perhaps they are created automatically just after the shuttle passes KSC.