[Launch Alert] Titan II Launched

[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 2,300 e-mail addresses worldwide

				         2003 October 22 (Wednesday) 06:10 PDT
----------------------------------------------------------------------

    LOCKHEED MARTIN-BUILT TITAN II SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES MILITARY
          WEATHER SATELLITE FROM VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE
                    Lockheed Martin news release

(Vandenberg AFB, Oct. 18) A Lockheed Martin-built Titan II launch
vehicle successfully placed the Defense Meteorological Satellite
Program (DMSP) Block 5D-3 spacecraft into orbit this morning for the
U.S. Air Force. The Titan II lifted off at 9:17 a.m. Pacific Daylight
Time from Space Launch Complex 4West at Vandenberg Air Force Base,
Calif. DMSP will be used for strategic and tactical weather prediction
to aid the U.S. military in planning operations at sea, on land and in
the air.

This launch marked the end of an era for the Lockheed Martin Titan
team as the final refurbished intercontinental ballistic missile
(ICBM) - dubbed Titan II - flew a perfect mission, capping an overall
success record of 100 percent.

"Everyone at Lockheed Martin who has ever been a part of the Titan
program watched with pride this morning as we launched another
important space asset for our military forces,� said G. Thomas Marsh,
executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company.
"The Titan II program has been an outstanding example of partnership
between the Air Force and Lockheed Martin, and we are very proud to
fly the final rocket successfully and round out a perfect Titan II
record.�

Titan II ICBMs served as the vanguard of the United States� strategic
deterrent for more than two decades. In the late 1960s, 10 Titan IIs
also successfully launched astronauts as part of the Gemini program.
When the Titan II ICBMs were decommissioned, the U.S. Air Force Space
and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles, Calif., contracted with
Lockheed Martin to refurbish 14 for use as space launch vehicles.
Today�s mission marked the 13th consecutive successful Titan launch.
There are no current plans to launch the 14th vehicle.

DMSP, operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), is used for strategic and tactical weather prediction to aid
the U.S. military in planning operations at sea, on land and in the
air. Equipped with a sophisticated sensor suite that can image visible
and infrared cloud cover, the satellite collects specialized
meteorological, oceanographic and solar-geophysical information in all
weather conditions. The DMSP constellation comprises two spacecraft in
near-polar orbits, C3 (command, control and communications), user
terminals and weather centers. The most recent launch of a DMSP
spacecraft took place on Dec. 12, 1999 from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
That launch marked the first of the Block 5D-3 satellites.

The Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base,
Calif. manages the DMSP and Titan programs.

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

		         TITAN II/DMSP OBSERVATIONS

As mentioned above, a Titan II missile was launched from Vandenberg
AFB last Saturday and successfully placed the DMSP F16 military
weather satellite into a polar orbit. Two Launch Alert readers
reported seeing the launch and an observer in the U.K. saw the DMSP
satellite a few hours later. Their observations are as presented
below.


                             Todd Walker
                    Observing near Vandenberg AFB

"We watched the launch of the last Titan II from a hilltop a mile or
so north of the main entrance to Vandenberg. The weather could not be
more perfect with temps in the upper 70's or low 80's with a very
small fog layer at the coast near the launch pad.

9:17 [a.m.] comes and you could clearly see the rocket as it slowly
lifts off the pad with a brown puff of smoke jetting off to the south.
Right after it cleared tower it appeared to me that it was actually
losing speed and coming to a stop but then it started picking up speed
again.

An exhaust trail appeared for a brief time during it's climb then
disappeared again just as the sound started reached us. As the rocket
turned south it turned its two nozzles directly at us and they
appeared as two bright starts caught in each others gravity.

The sound increased in volume to a thunderous stomach-shaking roar
moments later as a result of this southward turn. Staging occured as
another puff of brown smoke. I was able to see first stage falling
earthward trailing smoke as stage 2 continued its climb for a few
moments and then everything but a short swirling contrail disappeared
from sight."


                              Starlord
                  Observing from the Mojave Desert

"Saw the launch from the High Mojave Desert, but all that could be
seen was the bright light from the rocket's flame and the smoke trail.
If had not been looking for it, would never had noticed it."


                           David Brierley
            Observing from Malvern, Worcestershire, U.K.

In spite of mixed cloudcover, satellite observer David Brierly
successfully spotted the DMSP spacecraft from the United Kingdom three
hours after launch. According to David:

"I watched for it in the south near epsilon Pegasi, and saw it bright
and steady. My first observation ... was at 19:17:22.80 UT, 8:17 p.m.
local time (BST). It passed virtually through the zenith.

Pierre Neirinck also saw it from Malo-les-bains near Dunkirk,
France ..."

Regarding the DMSP's brightness, Brierley said:

"I would now say that it was mag +4.5 to +5*, and steady throughout the
transit from 30 deg in the S to 30 deg in the N."


* David apparently observed from a rural area. An object of this
  brightness would be invisible to the unaided eye from the suburbs.

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

              DEBRIS FROM CHINESE MANNED FLIGHT VISIBLE

China successfully conducted its first successful manned spaceflight
last week. Although the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft was in orbit for less
than a day, the upper stage the launch vehicle rocket entered orbit.

The upper stage will pass over southern California before sunrise
Thursday (October 23rd) and may be visible to the naked eye between
05:55 and 05:57 PDT. The pass information for selected cities is as
follows:

		      Direction
  Location	      of Travel			 Comments
-------------	----------	--------------------------------------

Santa Barbara	E to ESE	Look in eastern sky. Maximum elevation
					attained is 43 deg.

Los Angeles		E to ESE	Look in eastern sky. Maximum elevation
					attained is 69 deg.

San Diego		N to ESE	Look in northeastern sky. Maximum
					elevation attained is 59 deg.

Search the sky along the object's direction of travel and look for
point of light gliding across the sky. At first you might think it's
an airplane, but you'll notice it doesn't have any flashing lights and
it doesn't move like a plane. It may also vary in brightness over the
span of several seconds.

Although this is a fairly favorable observing opportunity, the odds of
seeing this object on a given pass are probably only 1 in 3. Still, if
you're awake at that time, it may be worth looking for.

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

		                  GLOSSARY

BST			British Standard Time?
deg.			Degrees
DMSP			Defense Meteorological Satellite Program
E			East
Epsilon Pegasi	A star in the constellation Pegasus
ESE			East-southeast
ICBM			Intercontinental ballistic missile
mag			Magnitude. A measure of brightness
N			North
NNE			North-northeast
PDT			Pacific Daylight Time
S			South
SSW			South-southwest
UT			Coordinated Universal Time (also called "Zulu")