[Launch Alert] Thursday Launch

[Brian Webb]

	     ASTRONOMY/SPACE ALERT FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
 				  
			          Brian Webb
		        Ventura County, California
		       E-mail: kd6nrp@earthlink.net
	      Web Site: http://home.earthlink.net/~kd6nrp

	  Reaching more than 2,020 e-mail addresses worldwide
 				       
				            2003 June 25 (Wednesday) 06:17 PDT
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		          PEGASUS LAUNCH VIEWING

Tomorrow's planned airborne launch of a Pegasus XL rocket carrying the
OrbView 3 satellite appears to be on schedule. A few of you have asked
if the event will be visible.

The answer is a qualified "yes". It will be visible, but you'll have
to be at the right place and know exactly where to look. The L-1011
depart Vandenberg AFB at about 11:50 PDT, make a right turn and fly up
the coast. The jumbo jet will then make two right turns and begin
heading south.

The jet, flying at 39,000 feet, will enter a box-shaped launch zone
containing the launch point. When the L-1011 arrives at 36.000 north/
123.000 west (74 miles southwest of Monterey), the Pegasus will be
released. A few seconds later the rocket's first stage motor should
ignite and OrbView 3 will be on its way.

Since this is a daylight launch, and the Pegasus is a rather small
vehicle, the launch will probably only be visible along the coast
between San Jose and San Luis Obispo.

The best observing strategy is to go to the coastal mountains above
the haze and clouds and use binoculars to scan along the jumbo jet's
flight path. The L-1011 may be accompanied by a chase plane. If you
see two contrails, you've probably found them.

OrbView 3 launch status information will be posted on the Web on
launch day at:

  http://www.orbital.com/NewsInfo/MissionUpdates/ov3_central.html