[Launch Alert] Vandenberg AFB Launch Schedule

[Brian Webb]

                            LAUNCH ALERT

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

				         2004 September 2 (Thursday) 21:12 PDT
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		       VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
		           As of 2004 September 1

			    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. The Air Force will announce the date
and launch window about 36-hours in advance. Glory Trip 186?

OCT 18		~11:25?			Pegasus XL		Offshore
Payload is NASA's DART satellite

Late NOV?		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.

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

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	        Southern California Astronomical Events
			       for 2004 September

			  Time
  Date		(PST/PDT)				Event
--------		---------		-----------------------------
SEP 6			08:11			Last Quarter Moon
Moon rises at midnight and sets at noon

SEP 9			07:00			Mercury Western Elongation
Elusive Mercury attains its greatest angular separation from the Sun
and is visible low in the east at dawn

SEP 11-12		---			Dark Sky Weekend
Best time this month to observe faint objects. Amateur astronomers
will hold observing sessions from dark sites

SEP 14		07:29			New Moon
Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun and is invisible. Moon rises
at sunrise and sets at sunset

SEP 15		06:00			Mars Conjunction
Mars passes behind the Sun and is lost in the Sun's glare

SEP 21		08:34			First Quarter Moon
Moon rises at noon and sets at midnight

SEP 21		17:00			Jupiter Conjunction
Jupiter passes behind the Sun and is lost in the Sun's glare

SEP 28		06:09			Full Moon
Moon rises at sunset and sets at sunrise and is visible all night

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			           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

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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.