[Launch Alert] SHUTTLE REENTRY VISIBLE

[Brian Webb]

		ASTRONOMY/SPACE ALERT FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
 				  
				Brian Webb, KD6NRP
			  Ventura County, California
			 E-mail: kd6nrp@earthlink.net
		 Web Site: http://home.earthlink.net/~kd6nrp
 				       
						2003 January 19 (Sunday) 16:35 PST
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		SHUTTLE REENTRY VISIBLE

Launch Alert reader Rick Baldridge recently passed the word that part
of the upcoming reentry of Space Shuttle Columbia will occur over
northern California before dawn on February 1st.

According to Rick "The shuttle will be re-entering the Earth's
atmosphere over the North Bay Area at 4:48am (22 minutes before
landing) which is well before the start of astronomical twilight,
yielding a spectacular sight to all of central and northern
California, Nevada and points east almost to the Mississippi River
basin where sunlight will begin to interfere.

Many PAS [Penninsula Astronomical Society] members have seen these
re-entries before, and they make a fabulous sight -- easily video
taped and/or photographed."

Since the Shuttle will be at a very high altitude when it passes
over northern California, the reentry may be visible for hundreds of
miles either side of the ground track. This could provide a rare
spectacle for the southern part of California.

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		CORIOLIS LAUNCH

A Titan II booster carrying the Coriolis satellite finally
lifted-off from Vandenberg AFB earlier this month. You may recall the
launch had been cancelled several times. Launch occurred on Monday,
January 6th at 06:19 PST. I observed and photographed the launch from
a location some 100 miles east-southeast of the launch pad.

Because this was a morning twilight launch, I was hoping for a
good visual display from sunlight reflected by the Titan's exhaust
plume. The so-called Twilight Effect did occur, but it was very
weak. However, the launch was still rather interesting.

On launch day, I carried my photo gear up a hill at the end of my
street at about T-30 minutes. The Santa Ana winds were blowing
strongly and I was literally being sand blasted as I waited for
launch.

Launch appeared to occur one minute late. The Titan II suddenly
popped up over a distant hilltop orchard - exactly where I thought it
would. The vehicle looked like a not-so-bright white spot.

Through my 135mm (2.6 power) telephoto lens I could see a faint, thin
flame begin to emerge behind the spot. Several seconds later, the
spot brightened momentarily and a few bright sparks fell away. A
telltale smoke puff appeared confirming I had just seen stage 1/2
separation.

Through the telephoto I could see several white specks moving
together. The second stage on the left. On the right was the spent
first stage. It was the brightest of the objects and was slowly
brightening and fading every five seconds as it tumbled. In between
the two stages was missile debris. The objects didn't look like
stars; they resembled "sparkles".

I've seen several launches over the years. This wasn't the most
impressive, but it was interesting.

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		VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
		    As of 2002 January 19

		Launch
		Window
Date		PST/PDT		Vehicle

MAR		00:01-06:01		Peacekeeper
ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is two unarmed warheads.
Impact area is near Kwajalein in the central Pacific. GT-32PA 

APR 30	Unknown		Pegasus XL
Payload is OrbView 3 commercial reconnaissance satellite. Pegasus will
be air-launched from an L-1011 staged from Vandenberg AFB 

MAY		~08:00		Titan II
Payload is a DMSP military weather satellite

MAY 20	Unknown		Pegasus XL
Payload is SciSat 1 ozone monitoring satellite. Pegasus will be
air-launched from an L-1011 staged from Vandenberg AFB 

JUN		01:01-07:01		Minuteman III
ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is at least one unarmed
warhead. Impact area is near Kwajalein in the central Pacific.
GT-182GM 

JUN 23	Unknown		Atlas IIas
Payload is a classified National Reconnaissance Office satellite(s)