[Launch Alert] Minuteman III Launch

[Brian Webb]

                             LAUNCH ALERT

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

				              2005 April 25 (Monday) 17:42 PDT
----------------------------------------------------------------------

                        MINUTEMAN III LAUNCH

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – An unarmed Minuteman III
intercontinental ballistic missile is scheduled for launch from North
Vandenberg Wednesday morning as part of the Force Development
Evaluation Program. The six-hour launch window is from 1:01 a.m. to
7:01 a.m. PST*. The purpose of the launch is to verify the continued
reliability and accuracy of the Minuteman III ICBM.

A task force from the 91st Space Wing, Minot AFB, N.D. will launch the
missile under the direction of the 576th Flight Test Squadron here.
Capt. Olek Wojnar, 576th FLTS, is the launch director.

Col. Frank Gallegos, 30th Space Wing commander, is the spacelift
commander. The mission director is Lt. Col. Anthony Baylock, 576th
FLTS commander. Members of the 595th Space Group here installed
tracking, telemetry and command destruct systems on the missile to
collect data and meet safety requirements.

The missile's two unarmed re-entry vehicles are expected to travel
approximately 4,200 miles in about 30 minutes, hitting a
pre-determined target at the Kwajalein Missile Range in the western
chain of the Marshall Islands. The nation’s ICBMs are a key component
of global stability – a safe, secure and affordable weapon system that
delivers deterrence.

*This probably should say PDT rather than PST - Editor

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

                     LAUNCH VIEWING INFORMATION

For advice on viewing Vandenberg AFB missile launches, go to:

    www.spacearchive.info/vafbview.htm

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

Copyright © 2005 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.