[Launch Alert] Vandenberg Launch Schedule

[Brian Webb]

                            LAUNCH ALERT

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

				            2004 August 10 (Tuesday) 05:23 PDT
----------------------------------------------------------------------

		       VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
			       As of 2004 August 8

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

SEP             To be announced        Minuteman III        ---
ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is one or more unarmed
warheads (probably Mk-12). Impact area is in the Reagan Test Site at
Kwajalein in the central Pacific. Glory Trip 186?

SEP?            10:00-13:00            Falcon I             SLC-3W
Payload is the Naval Research Laboratory's TacSat-1 satellite. The
launch window is fixed and does not change if the launch date changes.

OCT 18          Late evening?          Pegasus XL           Offshore
Payload is DART satellite

NOV 9           08:00-10:00            Minotaur             SLC-8
Payload is XSS-11 satellite

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

                            METEOR SHOWER

The annual Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak early Thursday
morning. The display occurs every August when the Earth crosses the
orbit of Comet Swift-Tuttle and dust particles from the comet burn up
as they collide with the atmosphere.

During a typical Perseid display, observers in rural areas see a
maximum of about 50 meteors per hour while those in the suburbs see
about half as many. This is a good year for observing the Perseids due
to minimal interference from moonlight and a real possibility that the
shower may be especially intense.

To view the Perseids, go outdoors on August 12 between midnight and
dawn. If you’re in western North America, try to observe around 04:00
PDT (11:00 UTC) when the shower is expected to peak. The American
Meteor Society recommends viewing the event by lying in a reclining
lawn chair with your feet pointing southeast and looking straight up.

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

Copyright © 2004 Brian Webb. All rights reserved. This newsletter may
be distributed in its entirety without restriction. Excerpts may be
not be reprinted or posted elsewhere without prior permission.