[Launch Alert] Vandenberg Launch Schedule

Sat Oct 2 00:51:17 EDT 2004

                            LAUNCH ALERT

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

                                     2004 October 1 (Friday) 21:48 PDT
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		       VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
			      As of 2004 October 1

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

OCT 26?		~11:19-11:26		Pegasus XL		Offshore
Payload is NASA's DART satellite

JAN 19		16:00				Minotaur		SLC-8
Payload is STP-R1 satellite

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

FEB			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. The Air Force will announce the date
and launch window about 36-hours in advance. Glory Trip 187GM

FEB 1			~02:00			Delta II		SLC-2W
Payload is NOAA N environmental satellite. Launch time is based on
informed speculation

MAR 1			To be announced		Delta IV		SLC-6
Classified National Reconaissance Office payload. The DoD will
announce the launch time about 24-hours in advance. NROL-22

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	        Southern California Astronomical Events
			        for 2004 October

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

OCT 3			08:01			Planetary Appulse
Venus passes 0.15° from the bright star Regulus

OCT 5			12:00			Mercury Superior Conjunction
Mercury passes behind the Sun and is lost in the Sun's glare.

OCT 5-9		---			Star Party
Enchanted Skies Star Party, Socorro, New Mexico.
www.socorro-nm.com/starparty

OCT 6			03:12			Last Quarter Moon
Moon rises at midnight and sets at noon

OCT 9-10		---			Dark Sky Weekend
Best time this month to observe faint objects. Amateur astronomers
will hold observing sessions from dark sites

OCT 10		03:00			Lunar Conjunction
The Moon passes 5° north of Saturn

OCT 13		19:48			New Moon
Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun and is invisible. Moon rises
at sunrise and sets at sunset

OCT 14		19:00			Lecture
Free lecture "Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter: An Unprecedented Look at
Mars" at Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures/oct04.cfm

OCT 15		19:00			Lecture
Free lecture "Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter: An Unprecedented Look at
Mars" at Pasadena City College.
www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures/oct04.cfm

OCT 15-16		---			Star Party
All Arizona Star Party. www.eastvalleyastronomy.org/aasp.htm

OCT 16-17		---			Dark Sky Weekend
Best time this month to observe faint objects. Amateur astronomers
will hold observing sessions from dark sites

OCT 20		14:59			First Quarter Moon
Moon rises at noon and sets at midnight

OCT 27		18:14-21:54		Total Lunar Eclipse
Eclipse begins at 18:14. Totality occurs from 19:23 to 20:45. Eclipse
ends at 21:54.
sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/LEplot/LEplot2001/LE2004Oct28T.gif

OCT 27		20:07			Full Moon
Moon rises at sunset and sets at sunrise and is visible all night

OCT 29		03:08-03:39		Lunar Occultation
The Moon occults (passes in front of) the +4.4 magnitude star Delta
Arietis. The star disappears at 03:08 and reappears at 03:39. Time
computed for downtown Los Angeles and will vary depending on your
location

OCT 31		02:00			Time Change
Standard Time begins. Set clocks back one hour

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                         LOW TECH ASTRONOMY

This Sunday morning skywatchers have a chance to see a close encounter
between Venus and the bright star Regulus. The two objects will move
closer over the next day until October 3 at 08:01 PDT (15:01 UTC) when
they are separated by 0.15°. To view the event, observers in the
Southwest should look in the east before dawn on Sunday and locate
brilliant, silvery-white Venus. Regulus will be located immediately to
the planet's left.

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