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Vandenberg Afb Launch Schedule, Brian Webb's Launch Alert
ljk4-1
post Jan 3 2006, 04:13 PM
Post #1


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Group: Members
Posts: 2454
Joined: 8-July 05
From: NGC 5907
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LAUNCH ALERT

Brian Webb
Ventura County, California

E-mail: kd6nrp@earthlink.net

Web Site: http://www.spacearchive.info

2006 January 2 (Monday) 18:16 PST
----------------------------------------------------------------------

VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
As of 2006 January 2

Launch
Time/Window
Date (PST/PDT) Vehicle Pad/Silo
----------- --------------- ---------- --------

2006 To be announced Delta IV SLC-6
Classified National Reconnaissance Office payload. The DoD will
announce the exact launch time several hours in advance. NRO L-22

2006 To be announced Delta IV SLC-6
Payload is the DMSP F-17 military weather satellite

NET Mid-FEB ~02:00 Delta II SLC-2W
Payload is the CloudSat and CALIPSO environmental satellites

Mid-FEB? 10:00-13:00? Falcon I SLC-3W
Payload is the Naval Research Laboratory's TacSat-1 satellite. The
vehicle will carry the ashes of U.S. astronaut Gordon Cooper, Star
Trek actor James "Scotty" Doohan and several other people into space.
The launch window is fixed and does not change if the launch date
changes.

FEB 15 To be announced Minuteman III LF-10
ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is one or more unarmed
warheads. Impact area is the Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein in the
central Pacific. The Air Force will announce the launch window a few
days in advance.

FEB 28 05:57:21-07:19:21 Pegasus XL Offshore
Payload is JPL's SpaceTech 5 microsatellites. Possible twilight effect
because launch window opens during morning twilight and payload will
be placed in a 2,800-mile-high orbit

MAR? To be announced Minuteman III ---
ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is one or more unarmed
warheads. Impact area is the Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein in the
central Pacific. The Air Force will announce the launch window a few
days in advance.

MAR 31 Unknown Minotaur SLC-8
Payload is COSMIC and Taiwan's FORMOSAT-3 scientific satellites

----------------------------------------------------------------------

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ASTRONOMICAL EVENTS
for 2006 January

Time
Date (PST/PDT) Event
-------- --------- -----------------------------

JAN 3 00:00-05:30 Quadrantid Meteor Shower
Observers in dark locations should see several meteors per hour. The
shower is predicted to peak on JAN 3 at 10:00 PST.

JAN 6 10:56 First Quarter Moon
Moon rises at noon and sets at midnight

JAN 9 11:02 Jupiter Dual Shadow Transit
The shadows of Jupiter's moons Europa and Ganymede are visible on
planet's disk.

JAN 14 01:48 Full Moon
Moon rises at sunset, sets at sunrise, and is visible all night

JAN 15 01:57 Spacecraft Reentry
NASA's Stardust sample return spacecraft reenter the atmosphere as it
heads for a landing in Utah. The event might be visible to the unaided
eye from north-central Nevada. http://reentry.arc.nasa.gov/index.html
http://reentry.arc.nasa.gov/viewingforum.html

JAN 15 05:11 Lunar Conjunction
The Moon passes 3.8° north of Saturn. Time of closest approach and
separation computed for the Earth's center and may vary significantly
depending on your location

JAN 22 07:14 Last Quarter Moon
Moon rises at midnight and sets at noon

JAN 23 12:20 Lunar Conjunction
The Moon passes 4.7° south of Jupiter. Time of closest approach and
separation computed for the Earth's center and may vary significantly
depending on your location

JAN 25 04:06 Lunar Conjunction
The Moon passes 0.03° south of Antares. Time of closest approach and
separation computed for the Earth's center and may vary significantly
depending on your location

JAN 27 14:48 Saturn Opposition
Saturn is opposite the Sun with respect to Earth and rises at sunset.

JAN 28-29 --- Dark Sky Weekend
Best time this month to observe faint objects. Amateur astronomers may
hold observing sessions at dark sites

JAN 29 06:15 New Moon
Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun and is invisible. Moon rises
at sunrise and sets at sunset

----------------------------------------------------------------------

WEB SITE UPDATES

A 2006 astronomical events calendar has been uploaded and is
available at http://www.spacearchive.info/astrosked.htm.

Sunrise/sunset, moonrise/moonset, and astronomical twilight start/end
times are now available for 22 Southwest U.S. cities. In past years,
this data was only given for Los Angeles. The information is posted at
the following locations:

www.spacearchive.info/sunrise-sunset.htm

www.spacearchive.info/twilight.htm

www.spacearchive.info/moonrise-moonset.htm

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright © 2006 Brian Webb. All rights reserved. This newsletter may
be distributed in its entirety without restriction. Excerpts may be
not be reprinted or posted elsewhere without prior permission.

_______________________________________________

To subscribe or unsubscribe from this newsletter, go to:

http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/launch-alert

Questions and comments regarding this newsletter and editorial contributions
should be directed to kd6nrp@earthlink.net


--------------------
"After having some business dealings with men, I am occasionally chagrined,
and feel as if I had done some wrong, and it is hard to forget the ugly circumstance.
I see that such intercourse long continued would make one thoroughly prosaic, hard,
and coarse. But the longest intercourse with Nature, though in her rudest moods, does
not thus harden and make coarse. A hard, sensible man whom we liken to a rock is
indeed much harder than a rock. From hard, coarse, insensible men with whom I have
no sympathy, I go to commune with the rocks, whose hearts are comparatively soft."

- Henry David Thoreau, November 15, 1853

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ljk4-1
post Feb 2 2006, 10:17 PM
Post #2


Senior Member
****

Group: Members
Posts: 2454
Joined: 8-July 05
From: NGC 5907
Member No.: 430



LAUNCH ALERT

Brian Webb
Ventura County, California

E-mail: kd6nrp@earthlink.net

Web Site: http://www.spacearchive.info

2006 February 1 (Wednesday) 19:22 PST
----------------------------------------------------------------------

VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
As of 2006 February 1

Launch
Time/Window
Date (PST/PDT) Vehicle Pad/Silo
-------- --------------- ------------- --------

FEB 16 To be announced Minuteman III LF-10
ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is one unarmed Mark 21
warhead. Impact area is the Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein in the
central Pacific. The Air Force will announce the launch window a few
days in advance.

FEB 28 05:57:21-07:19:21 Pegasus XL Offshore
Payload is JPL's SpaceTech 5 microsatellites. Airborne launch with a
target drop time of 06:04 PST. Possible twilight effect because launch
window opens during morning twilight and payload will be placed in a
2,800-mile-high orbit.
NASA reports the mating of the three Pegasus XL stages was completed
in the Orbital Sciences hangar and SpaceTech 5 testing and checkout is
complete. Pegasus Flight Simulation No. 2 was scheduled for JAN 27.
The spacecraft is scheduled for mating with Pegasus on FEB 6.

MAR? To be announced Minuteman III ---
ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is one or more unarmed
warheads. Impact area is the Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein in the
central Pacific. The Air Force will announce the launch window a few
days in advance.

MAR 31 Unknown Minotaur SLC-8
Payload is COSMIC and Taiwan's FORMOSAT-3 scientific satellites

APR-JUN 10:00-13:00? Falcon I SLC-3W
Payload is the Naval Research Laboratory's TacSat-1 satellite. The
vehicle will carry the ashes of U.S. astronaut Gordon Cooper, Star
Trek actor James "Scotty" Doohan and several other people into space.
The launch window is fixed and does not change if the launch date
changes.

JUN? To be announced Minuteman III ---
ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is one or more unarmed
warheads. Impact area is the Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein in the
central Pacific. The Air Force will announce the launch window a few
days in advance.

JUL? To be announced Minuteman III ---
ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is one or more unarmed
warheads. Impact area is the Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein in the
central Pacific. The Air Force will announce the launch window a few
days in advance.

2006 To be announced Delta IV SLC-6
Classified National Reconnaissance Office payload. The DoD will
announce the exact launch time several hours in advance. NRO L-22

2006 To be announced Delta IV SLC-6
Payload is the DMSP F-17 military weather satellite

Pending ~02:00 Delta II SLC-2W
Payload is the CloudSat and CALIPSO environmental satellites.
NASA reports the satellites are installed in the Dual Payload Attach
Fitting at the Astrotech payload processing facilities. They will
remain there until a launch date is selected.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

ASTRONOMICAL EVENTS
for 2006 February
Compiled for Los Angeles, California

Time
Date (PST/PDT) Event
-------- --------- -----------------------------

FEB 4 22:29 First Quarter Moon
Moon rises at noon and sets at midnight

FEB 5 13:56 Lunar Conjunction The Moon passes 2.2°
north of Mars. Time of closest approach and separation computed for
the Earth's center and may vary significantly depending on your
location

FEB 6 00:56 Lunar Occultation
The Moon occults (passes in front of) the +3.0 magnitude star Alcyone.
Star disappears at 00:16. The reappearance is not visible. Time
computed for downtown Los Angeles and will vary depending on your
location

FEB 12 20:44 Full Moon
Moon rises at sunset, sets at sunrise, and is visible all night

FEB 20 23:17 Last Quarter Moon
Moon rises at midnight and sets at noon

FEB 23 21:04 Mercury Eastern Elongation
Elusive Mercury attains its greatest angular separation from the Sun
and is visible low in the west at dusk.

FEB 25-26 --- Dark Sky Weekend
Best time this month to observe faint objects. Amateur astronomers may
hold observing sessions at dark sites

FEB 27 16:31 New Moon
Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun and is invisible. Moon rises
at sunrise and sets at sunset

FEB 28 18:00 Uranus Conjunction
Uranus passes behind the Sun and is lost in the Sun's glare.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

WEB SITE UPDATE

You can now quickly search the entire contents of my Space Archive
web site thanks to a new search tool. To perform a site search, go to
www.spacearchive.info, locate the search tool in the lower left, and
enter the keywords (Minuteman III, etc.)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

STARDUST REENTRY OBSERVATIONS

This newsletter recently published Stardust reentry observations.
Reader Patrick Wiggins directed me to the following Stardust reentry
items on the Internet:

http://www.trilobyte.net/paw/slas/patrickw/PATRICKW04.HTML
http://www2.tooeletranscript.com/index.php...sk=view&id=9970
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_3406719
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/1%2C1249%2C...76685%2C00.html

----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUBMARINE LAUNCHES

In response to the Launch Alert discussion regarding the mysterious
submarine missile launch several years ago, Jim Baumgardt e-mailed me
some photos of the event. Jim was at the 1985 Riverside Telescope
Makers Conference and apparently had his camera set up as the launch
happened. From the looks of it, it was indeed an impressive dusk
display.

When I get some spare time, I'll try to post the images on my web
site.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

SPEAKING OF SPARE TIME

Long time Launch Alert readers have probably noticed that the content
and quality of this newsletter tends to wax and wane over time. The
primary reason is my lack of time due to other priorities.

To put it bluntly, I'm swamped. However, I hope to have a noted
astronomy writer occasionally helping me out with the web site and
newsletter in the not too distant future.

Depending on how things work out, I may be looking for an additional
compensated writer later this year.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

WHAT ARE THE ODDS?

Last Saturday I attended the wedding of Ben Okopnik and Kat Tanaka in
Torrance, Calif . (Ben and I are old friends from way back). When I
spoke to the bride, I was surprised to learn that she knows Launch
Alert readers Jim Spellman and Randall Clague.

Over dinner I talked with Heather Stern and Jim Dennis from northern
California. It turns out that they know Ian Kluft, another Launch
Alert reader.

There were also two brothers at the wedding. One performed the
ceremony and the other helped organize the event. It took a few hours,
but I realized that they were Rick and Larry Foss, two people I knew
from my high school graduating class (1974).

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright © 2006 Brian Webb. All rights reserved. This newsletter may
be distributed in its entirety without restriction. Excerpts may be
not be reprinted or posted elsewhere without prior permission.

_______________________________________________

To subscribe or unsubscribe from this newsletter, go to:

http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/launch-alert

Questions and comments regarding this newsletter and editorial contributions
should be directed to kd6nrp@earthlink.net


--------------------
"After having some business dealings with men, I am occasionally chagrined,
and feel as if I had done some wrong, and it is hard to forget the ugly circumstance.
I see that such intercourse long continued would make one thoroughly prosaic, hard,
and coarse. But the longest intercourse with Nature, though in her rudest moods, does
not thus harden and make coarse. A hard, sensible man whom we liken to a rock is
indeed much harder than a rock. From hard, coarse, insensible men with whom I have
no sympathy, I go to commune with the rocks, whose hearts are comparatively soft."

- Henry David Thoreau, November 15, 1853

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ljk4-1
post Feb 15 2006, 02:40 PM
Post #3


Senior Member
****

Group: Members
Posts: 2454
Joined: 8-July 05
From: NGC 5907
Member No.: 430



LAUNCH ALERT

Brian Webb
Ventura County, California

E-mail: kd6nrp@earthlink.net

Web Site: http://www.spacearchive.info

2006 February 14 (Tuesday) 18:18 PST
----------------------------------------------------------------------

MINUTEMAN III LAUNCH
Vandenberg AFB News Release

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – An unarmed Minuteman III
intercontinental ballistic missile is scheduled to launch from North
Vandenberg Thursday morning as part of a developmental test to
demonstrate the ability to integrate modified products into weapons
systems. The six-hour launch window is from 12:01 a.m. to 6:01 a.m.
PST.

The missile will launch under the direction of the 576th Flight Test
Squadron here.

Col. Jack Weinstein, 30th Space Wing commander, is the spacelift
commander. The mission director is Lt. Col. Stephen Davis, 576th
FLTS commander. Members of the 576th FLTS here installed tracking,
telemetry and command destruct systems on the missile to collect data
and meet safety requirements.

The missile's single unarmed re-entry vehicle is expected to travel
approximately 4,800 miles in about 30 minutes, hitting a
pre-determined target at the Kwajalein Missile Range in the western
chain of the Marshall Islands. The nation’s ICBMs are a key component
of global stability – a safe, secure and affordable weapon system that
delivers deterrence.


As of this morning, the probability of acceptable weather at launch
time was estimated to be only 20% - Editor

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright © 2006 Brian Webb. All rights reserved. This newsletter may
be distributed in its entirety without restriction. Excerpts may be
not be reprinted or posted elsewhere without prior permission.

_______________________________________________

To subscribe or unsubscribe from this newsletter, go to:

http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/launch-alert

Questions and comments regarding this newsletter and editorial contributions
should be directed to kd6nrp@earthlink.net


--------------------
"After having some business dealings with men, I am occasionally chagrined,
and feel as if I had done some wrong, and it is hard to forget the ugly circumstance.
I see that such intercourse long continued would make one thoroughly prosaic, hard,
and coarse. But the longest intercourse with Nature, though in her rudest moods, does
not thus harden and make coarse. A hard, sensible man whom we liken to a rock is
indeed much harder than a rock. From hard, coarse, insensible men with whom I have
no sympathy, I go to commune with the rocks, whose hearts are comparatively soft."

- Henry David Thoreau, November 15, 1853

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+Quote Post
ljk4-1
post Feb 16 2006, 02:19 PM
Post #4


Senior Member
****

Group: Members
Posts: 2454
Joined: 8-July 05
From: NGC 5907
Member No.: 430



FYI, the Minuteman III was launched this morning on-time at one minute past
midnight from Vandenberg AFB. The original weather forecast was not very
favorable; it appears things improved.

Brian Webb

_______________________________________________

To subscribe or unsubscribe from this newsletter, go to:

http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/launch-alert

Questions and comments regarding this newsletter and editorial contributions
should be directed to kd6nrp@earthlink.net


--------------------
"After having some business dealings with men, I am occasionally chagrined,
and feel as if I had done some wrong, and it is hard to forget the ugly circumstance.
I see that such intercourse long continued would make one thoroughly prosaic, hard,
and coarse. But the longest intercourse with Nature, though in her rudest moods, does
not thus harden and make coarse. A hard, sensible man whom we liken to a rock is
indeed much harder than a rock. From hard, coarse, insensible men with whom I have
no sympathy, I go to commune with the rocks, whose hearts are comparatively soft."

- Henry David Thoreau, November 15, 1853

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+Quote Post
ljk4-1
post Feb 17 2006, 03:38 PM
Post #5


Senior Member
****

Group: Members
Posts: 2454
Joined: 8-July 05
From: NGC 5907
Member No.: 430



LAUNCH ALERT

Brian Webb
Ventura County, California

E-mail: kd6nrp@earthlink.net

Web Site: http://www.spacearchive.info

2006 February 16 (Thursday) 19:06 PST
----------------------------------------------------------------------

VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
As of 2006 February 16

Launch
Time/Window
Date (PST/PDT) Vehicle Pad/Silo
-------- ----------------- ---------- --------

FEB 28 05:57:21-07:19:21 Pegasus XL Offshore

Payload is JPL's SpaceTech 5 microsatellites. Airborne launch with a
target drop time of 06:02 PST. Possible twilight effect because launch
window opens during morning twilight and payload will be placed in a
2,800-mile-high orbit.

Flight Simulation No. 4, an integrated test with the ST5 spacecraft
and the Pegasus rocket, completed FEB 8. The flight termination
system, avionics batteries and ST5 logo installed. Final functional
testing and spacecraft closeouts was scheduled for FEB 11-12. The
three-day operation to install the Pegasus vehicle fairing around the
ST5 slated to start FEB 14. Pegasus will be mated to its transporter
on FEB 20 and moved to Vandenberg's runway for mating to the Orbital
Sciences L-1011 carrier jet aircraft on FEB 24.

MAR 30 Unknown Minotaur SLC-8
Payload is COSMIC and Taiwan's FORMOSAT-3 scientific satellites

APR ~03:00 Delta II SLC-2W
Payload is the CloudSat and CALIPSO environmental satellites

APR 7 To be announced Minuteman III ---
ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is one or more unarmed
warheads. Impact area is the Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein in the
central Pacific. The Air Force will announce the launch window a few
days in advance.

APR-JUN 10:00-13:00? Falcon I SLC-3W
Payload is the Naval Research Laboratory's TacSat-1 satellite. The
vehicle will carry the ashes of U.S. astronaut Gordon Cooper, Star
Trek actor James "Scotty" Doohan and several other people into space.
The launch window is fixed and does not change if the launch date
changes.

APR-JUN? To be announced Minuteman III ---
ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is one or more unarmed
warheads. Impact area is the Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein in the
central Pacific. The Air Force will announce the launch window a few
days in advance.

JUL-SEP? To be announced Minuteman III ---
ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is one or more unarmed
warheads. Impact area is the Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein in the
central Pacific. The Air Force will announce the launch window a few
days in advance.

2006 To be announced Delta IV SLC-6
Classified National Reconnaissance Office payload. The DoD will
announce the exact launch time several hours in advance. NRO L-22

2006 To be announced Delta IV SLC-6
Payload is the DMSP F-17 military weather satellite

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright © 2006 Brian Webb. All rights reserved. This newsletter may
be distributed in its entirety without restriction. Excerpts may be
not be reprinted or posted elsewhere without prior permission.

_______________________________________________

To subscribe or unsubscribe from this newsletter, go to:

http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/launch-alert

Questions and comments regarding this newsletter and editorial contributions
should be directed to kd6nrp@earthlink.net


--------------------
"After having some business dealings with men, I am occasionally chagrined,
and feel as if I had done some wrong, and it is hard to forget the ugly circumstance.
I see that such intercourse long continued would make one thoroughly prosaic, hard,
and coarse. But the longest intercourse with Nature, though in her rudest moods, does
not thus harden and make coarse. A hard, sensible man whom we liken to a rock is
indeed much harder than a rock. From hard, coarse, insensible men with whom I have
no sympathy, I go to commune with the rocks, whose hearts are comparatively soft."

- Henry David Thoreau, November 15, 1853

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