# Space Shuttle joyriding

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-shuttle-joyriding/427828>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 26, 2007, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-shuttle-joyriding/427828 "2007-11-26T19:46:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\
**Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-shuttle-joyriding/427828/21 "2007-11-27T11:34:23Z")

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Taking a cue from **Stranger’s** notes about that excellent book…I suppose, maybe (maybe), the crew could try and unneccesarily abort during launch to make the world record for fastest trans-Atlantic flight and get a free trip to Spain\*.

As for aerial stunts after reentry…just from what my experience with a flight simulator, you might be able pull off a roll. Maybe.— And not a barrel roll. DEFINATELY not a loop.—I haven’t tried it, though, and it’s real easy to bleed off more energy than you want to. Plus, I’d be a little worried about having a good enough roll rate, or having things tear off that are supposed to stay on.  
\*Pretty sure a base in Spain is still one of the abort landing sites. There were a number of others worldwide listed in the _Space Shuttle_ book, though a number of those were planned for Vandenberg-based missions, and thus were and will never be used by KSC launches.

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**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\
**Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-shuttle-joyriding/427828/22 "2007-11-27T15:26:01Z")

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[QUOTE=Ranchoth]  
\*Pretty sure a base in Spain is still one of the abort landing sites. There were a number of others worldwide listed in the _Space Shuttle_ book, though a number of those were planned for Vandenberg-based missions, and thus were and will never be used by KSC launches.  
[/QUOTE]  
Vandenberg AFB Space Launch Complex 6 (SLC-6 or “Slick Six”) is still there and has been refitted and used for Delta IV launches. I’m sure for the modest investment of [del]five[/del] [del]eight[/del] [del]twelve[/del] twenty billion dollars you could refit it to launch the STS just in time for that system’s retirement.

Stranger

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