[IRCA] Final Shuttle landing vs MW DX enhancement

[Glenn Hauser <wghauser@xxxxxxxxx>]

** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. It appears that NASA is determined to prevent us from monitoring a possible repeat of the extraordinary daytime MW DX opening two years ago in April, when an STS landing occurred in the morning well after sunrise all the way across the CONUS --- our theory being that passing thru the ionosphere near us disrupted the D-layer normally blocking propagation via the higher E-layer, which funxions at night for distant `skywave` propagation (or somehow enhancing the E-layer itself), producing night-like daytime reception in OK of MW stations in CO, WY, NE, SD and ND. 

The final STS 135 mission schedule at
http://www.nasa.gov/tvschedule/pdf/tvsked_revi.pdf
shows as of July 20:

orb event                         MET       CDT      EDT    UTC
197 DEORBIT PREPARATIONS BEGIN 12/ 13:25 11:54 PM 12:54 AM 04:54

THURSDAY JULY 21:  
198 PAYLOAD BAY DOOR CLOSING   12/ 14:45 01:14 AM 02:14 AM 06:14
200 ATLANTIS DEORBIT BURN      12/ 17:25 03:54 AM 04:54 AM 08:54
200 MILA C-BAND RADAR ACQUISITION OF ATLANTIS
                               12/ 18:16 04:45 AM 05:45 AM 09:45
200 KSC LANDING KSC            12/ 18:29 04:58 AM 05:58 AM 09:58

This means that like several previous ones, landing path will be in the dark before sunrise, so any such effects would be obscured with MW propagation in nighttime mode anyway. 

This page shows landing paths:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts135/news/landing.html
coming in over Central America and/or Mexico in the night. If delayed one orbit, coming in from further up over Mexico, but not USA. If further delays should be necessary or even a change in landing site to CA or NM, because of ground weather, all this will be different. So as usual, keep alert for any changes in the original plans (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
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