[Launch Alert] Launch Cancelled

[Brian Webb]

                            LAUNCH ALERT
 				  
			           Brian Webb
		         Ventura County, California
		        E-mail: kd6nrp@earthlink.net
	         Web Site: http://www.spacearchive.info

	   Reaching more than 2,340 e-mail addresses worldwide
 				       
				          2003 December 16 (Tuesday) 19:42 PST
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                  VANDENBERG MISSILE LAUNCH DELAYED

Thursday's scheduled launch of a prototype Lockheed-Martin booster
from Vandenberg AFB has been cancelled until at least January. The
cancellation was caused by a ground support equipment problem.

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               BOOSTER VERIFICATION TEST LAUNCH DELAY
                     Vandenberg AFB news release

(Vandenberg AFB, Calif. - DEC 16) The launch of Booster Verification
Test-5 has been delayed until at least January due to a fault in the
ground support equipment, which helps control and configure the
missile before and during flight.

The fault was discovered as part of normal pre-flight inspection and
checkout activities prior to the flight test date. The test is set to
involve a three-stage booster configuration developed by Lockheed
Martin. It's one of two boosters slated for use with the Ground-based
Midcourse Defense system.

The booster was ready to fly, however, the Missile Defense Agency's
commitment to mission success requires 100 percent identification of
the root cause of the fault prior to testing. Delaying the flight has
no impact on the GMD program or schedule. The GMD system is designed
to intercept and destroy long-range ballistic missiles.

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		       VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
		           As of 2003 December 16

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

JAN?		10:00-16:00?	EKV Booster		Unknown
Test launch of Lockheed-Martin's prototype booster for the EKV
(anti-missile interceptor). Vehicle will fly a ballistic (non-orbital)
trajectory. Launch being conducted for the Missile Defense Agency to
develop a ground-based, midcourse defense system against strategic
missiles. BV-5 

FEB 26	Unannounced		Taurus		SLC-576E
Payload is Taiwan's ROCSAT-2 satellite 

MAR		Unannounced		Minuteman III	LF-09
ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is unarmed warheads. Impact
area is in the Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein in the central Pacific.
Glory Trip 184GM 

MAR 19	Unannounced		Delta II		SLC-2W
Payload is NASA's AURA scientific satellite 

JUN		Unannounced		Minuteman III	LF-10
ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is unarmed warheads. Impact
area is in the Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein in the central Pacific.
Glory Trip 185GM 

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		                  GLOSSARY

BV-	      Booster Verification test. A booster test launch (BV-5 for
	      example).

EKV	      Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle. The anti-missile interceptor
	      for the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system designed to
	      destroy missiles in space during the middle (midcourse)
	      portion of their trajectory.

Glory Trip  Name given to strategic missile test launches

GMD	      The Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system designed to
	      destroy missiles in space during the middle (midcourse)
	      portion of their trajectory.

LF-	      Launch facility. A missile silo (such as LF-10).

PDT	      Pacific Daylight Time

PST	      Pacific Standard Time

SLC-	      Space Launch Complex. A launch pad (SLC-2W for example).