Launch Question

The next launch of a Space Shuttle will be Endeavour, which is slated for
blastoff at 7:44 p.m. EDT on November 29 (0044 GMT the 30th) for an 11-day
mission to ferry the Expedition Four crew to the International Space
Station, see. http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/schedule/schedule.htm. The
launch window is about 5 minute. This is just after sunset, and near the
time of the nearly full Moon rising, so it may appear that the shuttle is
heading towards (well, kind of) the Moon. Is there a reason for that?
Several Shuttle launches in the past couple of years have been near time of
the full Moon, and also when the Moon is to the East. That should help the
Shuttle get up, just like going East, but is the Moon's gravity significant
enough to be worth making that the launch time? I know the Shuttle is
extremely "fuel challenged". Sincerely, Jay Huebner at jhuebn@...