Beta angle result of the beta angle of the space station at those times. When the orbiter was in-flight (not docked to ISS) and it flew to a beta angle greater than 60 degrees, the orbiter went into "rotisserie" mode, and slowly rotated around its X-axis (nose to tail axis). For flights to ISS, the shuttle could launch during an ISS beta cutout if the ISS would be at a beta less than 60 degrees at dock, and throughout the docked phase. Therefore, the mission duration affected launch timing when the beta cutout dates were approaching. Beta angle The beta angle (formula_1)
Decimal degrees radius of the semi-major axis of the Earth at the equator is 6,378,137.0 meters resulting in a circumference of 40,075,161.2 meters. The equator is divided into 360 degrees of longitude, so each degree at the equator represents 111,319.9 meters or approximately 111.32 km. As one moves away from the equator towards a pole, however, one degree of longitude is multiplied by the cosine of the latitude, decreasing the distance, approaching zero at the pole. The number of decimal places required for a particular precision at the equator is: A value in decimal degrees to a precision of 4 decimal places