[Launch Alert] Launch Schedule

[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 2,320 e-mail addresses worldwide

				            2003 November 2 (Sunday) 08:01 PST
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		       VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
			      As of 2003 November 2

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

DEC 2		Unannounced		Atlas II		SLC-3E
Payload is a classified National Reconnaissance Office satellite(s).
NROL-18

DEC 6 	17:52:02		Delta II		SLC-2W
Payload is NASA's Gravity Probe B scientific satellite

JAN 14	Unannounced		Taurus		SLC-576E
Payload is Taiwan's ROCSAT-2 satellite

MAR 19	Unannounced		Delta II		SLC-2W
Payload is NASA's AURA scientific 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.
GT-184-GM

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	         Southern California Astronomical Events
			        for 2003 November

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

NOV 3			01:00			Moon-Mars Appulse
The Moon passes 3� north of Mars. RASC Observer's Handbook 2003, pg.
97

NOV 6			17:26*		Lunar Occultation
The Moon occults (passes in front of) the star Mu Piscium. Star
disappears at 17:26. The reappearance is not visible.
http://www.planetkc.com/bobgraze/2003d.zip

NOV 8			17:13			Full Moon
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/MoonPhase.html

NOV 17		01:02-01:22*	Lunar Occultation
The Moon occults (passes in front of) the star Eta Leonis. Star
disappears at 01:02 and reappears at 01:22
http://www.planetkc.com/bobgraze/2003d.zip

NOV 16		20:15			Last Quarter Moon
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/MoonPhase.html

NOV 21		06:27*		Lunar Occultation
The Moon occults (passes in front of) the star 82 Virginis. Star
disappears at 06:27. The reappearance occurs in daylight.
http://www.planetkc.com/bobgraze/2003d.zip

NOV 22-23		---			Dark Sky Weekend
Optimum time this month for observing faint objects. Amateur
astronomers will congregate at dark observing sites

NOV 23		14:59			New Moon
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/MoonPhase.html

NOV 30		09:16			First Quarter Moon
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/MoonPhase.html

* Time computed for downtown Los Angeles and will vary depending on
your location
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			  	     TIME FORMAT

All times in this newsletter are given in Pacific Time using a 24-hour
format similar to military time. Under this system, regular time is
expressed as follows:
                                            24-hour
		            Regular Time        Format
                    ---------------------   -------
		        12:00 a.m. (midnight)    00:00
		        6:00  a.m.		   06:00
		        12:00 p.m. (noon)        13:00
                    6:00  p.m.               18:00

No distinction is made between Pacific Standard Time and Pacific
Daylight Time.

For assistance in converting military time to regular time, go to:

	http://home.earthlink.net/~kd6nrp/military.htm

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		                  GLOSSARY

GT-	Glory Trip. Name given to strategic missile test launches
	(GT-183GB, etc.)
LF-	Launch facility. A missile silo (such as LF-10).
PDT	Pacific Daylight Time
PST	Pacific Standard Time
RASC	Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
SLC-	Space Launch Complex. A launch pad (SLC-2W for example).