[Launch Alert] Histroic Flight Slated for Tomorrow

[Brian Webb]

                             LAUNCH ALERT

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

				               2004 June 20 (Sunday) 08:18 PDT
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                 HISTORIC FLIGHT SLATED FOR TOMORROW

The first privately funded manned spaceflight remains on schedule for
Monday morning. The flight is a part of a collaboration between
investor and philanthropist Paul Allen and aviation legend Burt Rutan
whose company Scaled Composites designed and built the spacecraft.

A carrier aircraft dubbed "White Knight" will ferry the SpaceShipOne
rocket plane from the Mojave Civilian Aerospace Test Center to the
launch point high above the California desert.

SpaceShipOne will be released just east of Mojave from an altitude of
50,000 feet. The pilot will fire the craft’s rocket engine for 80
seconds and climb vertically, sending the craft to an altitude of 62
miles (100 km) before falling back to earth. The pilot will experience
zero gravity for more than three minutes. SpaceShipOne will reenter
the atmosphere glide back to a runway landing at Mojave.

The timeline for tomorrow’s flight is as follows (all times are PDT):

06:30          White Knight/SpaceShipOne takeoff

07:30          SpaceShipOne launch

07:55          SpaceShipOne landing

10:30 - 11:30  Post flight press conference

If the weather is clear, observers in Mojave and the surrounding
desert should have an opportunity to view the historic flight. Scaled
Composites has announced that it will allow the public to view the
flight in person. Information on public viewing is posted at
www.scaled.com.

Flight-related radio communications from the White Knight carrier
aircraft and SpaceShipOne may also be audible over a wide area.

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		       VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
			       As of 2004 June 19

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

JUN		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 185GM

JUL?		To be announced		Minuteman III	---
ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is one warhead (probably a
Mk-12). Impact area is in the Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein in the
central Pacific. Postponed following two unsuccessful launch attempts
on March 24th. Glory Trip 184GM

JUL		To be announced		Peacekeeper		---
ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is unarmed warheads (probably
Mk-21). Impact area is in the Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein in the
central Pacific. Glory Trip 33PA?

JUL 10	03:01:57-03:04:57		Delta II		SLC-2W
Payload is NASA's AURA scientific satellite. This pre-dawn launch
should be visible over a wide area.

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.

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?

OCT 18	Unknown			Pegasus XL		Offshore
Payload is DART satellite

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

DEC-JAN	~02:00			Delta II		SLC-2W
Payload is NOAA N environmental satellite. Launch time is based on
informed speculation

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Copyright © 2004 Brian Webb. All rights reserved. This newsletter may
be distributed in its entirety without restriction. Excerpts may be
reprinted elsewhere without permission if the source is clearly
identified as follows:

  Reprinted from Launch Alert (www.spacearchive.info/newsletter.htm)