From kd6nrp@earthlink.net  Mon Feb  2 02:08:42 2004
From: kd6nrp@earthlink.net (Brian Webb)
Date: Sun, 1 Feb 2004 18:08:42 -0800
Subject: [Launch Alert] X-43A Captive-Carry Flight Successful
Message-ID: <ILEIKIDGMILNBLGDAFBMGEDIDGAA.kd6nrp@earthlink.net>

                             LAUNCH ALERT

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

	   Reaching more than 2,390 e-mail addresses worldwide

				            2004 February 1 (Sunday) 18:07 PST
----------------------------------------------------------------------

                 X-43A COMPLETES CAPTIVE-CARRY FLIGHT

NASA successfully completed a dress rehearsal for this month's flight
of its unmanned X-43A research vehicle. A B-52 bomber carrying the
X-43A/Pegasus booster combination left Edwards AFB last Monday
afternoon at 15:21 PST, crossed the coast, and flew a predetermined
path over the Pacific Missile Test Range. The B-52 and chase aircraft
later returned to Edwards and landed at 17:28 PST.

The X-43A stack consists of a large solid fuel rocket tipped with the
X-43A hypersonic research vehicle. Since this was a captive-carry
mission, the stack remained attached to a pylon on the B-52's wing for
the entire two-hour flight.

The mission was a dress rehearsal for a launch of the X-43A
tentatively set for February 21st. The flight will evaluate supersonic
combustion ramjet (scramjet) technology.

During last Monday's captive-carry mission, Ventura County residents
spotted contrails and heard radio communications from the B-52 and
chase aircraft.

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

		       VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
			      As of 2004 January 31

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

FEB 26	Unannounced		Taurus		SLC-576E
Payload is Taiwan's ROCSAT-2 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.
Glory Trip 184GM

APR 17	10:12			Delta II		SLC-2W
Payload is NASA's Gravity Probe B satellite

MAY		Unannounced		Falcon I		SLC-3W
Payload is the Naval Research Laboratory's TacSat-1 satellite

JUN		Unannounced		Minuteman III	LF-10
ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is unarmed warheads. Impact
area is in the Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein in the central Pacific.
Glory Trip 185GM

JUN 20	Unannounced		Delta II		SLC-2W
Payload is NASA's AURA scientific satellite

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

	         Southern California Astronomical Events
			        for 2004 February

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

FEB 2			01:00			Neptune Conjunction
Neptune passes behind the Sun and is lost in the Sun's glare

FEB 2			20:00			Lunar Conjunction
The Moon passes 4° north of Saturn

FEB 6			00:47			Full Moon
Moon rises at sunset and sets at sunrise and is visible all night

FEB 6			19:15-20:10		Lunar Occultation
The Moon occults (passes in front of) the +3.5 magnitude star Eta
Leonis. The star disappears at 19:15 and reappears at 20:10. Time
computed for downtown Los Angeles and will vary depending on your
location

FEB 6			22:42			Jupiter Dual Satellite Transit
Two of Jupiter's moons simultaneously pass in front of the planet's
disk

FEB 8			06:00			Lunar Conjunction
The Moon passes 3° north of Jupiter

FEB 9-10		23:20-00:21		Lunar Occultation
The Moon occults (passes in front of) the +2.8 magnitude star Gamma
Virginis. Star disappears at 23:20 and reappears at 00:21. Time
computed for downtown Los Angeles and will vary depending on your
location

FEB 13		05:40			Last Quarter Moon
Moon rises at midnight and sets at noon

FEB 20		01:18			New Moon
Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun and is invisible. Moon rises
at sunrise and sets at sunset

FEB 21		18:00			Uranus Conjunction
Uranus passes behind the Sun and is lost in the Sun's glare

FEB 21-22		---			Dark Sky Weekend
Best time this month to observe faint objects. Amateur astronomers
will hold observing sessions from dark sites

FEB 25		18:00			Lunar Conjunction
The Moon passes 0.9° south of Mars

FEB 26		21:37			Jupiter Dual Satellite Transit
Two of Jupiter's moons simultaneously pass in front of the planet's
disk

FEB 27		19:24			First Quarter Moon
Moon rises at noon and sets at midnight

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

                            IMAGES NEEDED

My web site (www.spacearchive.info) is being expanded to also include
astronomy and space news for Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.
Since the content will be changing on a weekly basis, I will need a
steady stream of fresh material including images.

I'm interested in high quality amateur and professional sky
photography taken in the visible, infra-red, ultra-violet, and radio
portions of the spectrum.

I'm fairly open regarding the subject matter, as long as a prospective
image was taken from the Southwest. Some of the types of photos I'm
interested in are:

   - Missile launches (both Vandenberg AFB and White Sands)
   - Launch vehicle or payload pre-launch checkout
   - Ground-based photos of satellites launched from Vandenberg AFB
   - Wide field photos
   - Deep sky
   - Lunar and planetary
   - Spectra
   - Meteors
   - Planetary conjunctions

If you have an interesting image, please send it my way. At this point
I won't be able to provide any compensation for images other than free
publicity and a link to your web site.

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

			           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)		12:00
			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://www.spacearchive.info/military.htm

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

		                  GLOSSARY

Glory Trip	Name given to strategic missile test launches
LF-		Launch facility. A missile silo (such as LF-10)
PDT		Pacific Daylight Time
PST		Pacific Standard Time
SLC-		Space Launch Complex. A launch pad (SLC-2W for example)



From kd6nrp@earthlink.net  Sun Feb 15 15:51:59 2004
From: kd6nrp@earthlink.net (Brian Webb)
Date: Sun, 15 Feb 2004 07:51:59 -0800
Subject: [Launch Alert] X-43A Flight Delayed
Message-ID: <ILEIKIDGMILNBLGDAFBMIENGDGAA.kd6nrp@earthlink.net>

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

	  Reaching more than 2,420 e-mail addresses worldwide
 				       
				           2004 February 15 (Sunday) 07:48 PST
----------------------------------------------------------------------

                        X-43A FLIGHT DELAYED

The February 21st reflight of NASA's X-43A hypersonic research vehicle
appears to have been delayed for at least a week due to a booster
software issue. Designed to demonstrate air-breathing engine
technology at speeds above Mach 5, the unmanned X-43A is now scheduled
to fly no earlier than February 28th.

On launch day, observers may be able to spot the contrails from the
F-18 chase planes and the B-52 bomber carrying the X-43A/Pegasus
booster combination as they fly from Edwards AFB to the launch point
offshore. The contrails from the chase planes and mother ship may
also be visible as they return to Edwards.

There's a good chance that favorably placed observers will also see
the smoke trail from the Pegasus booster as it pushes the X-43A to its
operating altitude of 95,000 feet. In addition, suitably equipped
radio enthusiasts across a wide area should be able to hear radio
communications from the F-18s and the B-52.

The X-43's first flight occurred in June of 2001. The release from the
B-52 was normal, but the flight was terminated by ground controllers
when the Pegasus booster/X-43A went out of control shortly after
booster ignition.

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

		       VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
		           As of 2004 February 15

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

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.
Glory Trip 184GM 

APR 17	10:09:12		Delta II		SLC-2W
Payload is NASA's Gravity Probe B satellite 

MAY 13	Unannounced		Falcon I		SLC-3W
Payload is the Naval Research Laboratory's TacSat-1 satellite 

JUN		Unannounced		Minuteman III	LF-10
ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is unarmed warheads. Impact
area is in the Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein in the central Pacific.
Glory Trip 185GM 

JUN 20	Unannounced		Delta II		SLC-2W
Payload is NASA's AURA scientific satellite 

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

		                  GLOSSARY

Glory Trip	Name given to strategic missile test launches
LF-		Launch facility. A missile silo (such as LF-10)
PDT		Pacific Daylight Time
PST		Pacific Standard Time
SLC-		Space Launch Complex. A launch pad (SLC-2W for example)



