[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

				           2005 February 1 (Tuesday) 18:59 PST
----------------------------------------------------------------------

		       VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
			      As of 2005 February 1

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

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

Late FEB-
Early-MAR		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.

MAR			Unknown			Minotaur		  SLC-8
Payload is XSS-11 satellite

MAR 19		02:22:01-02:32:01		Delta II		  SLC-2W
Payload is the NOAA N environmental satellite

APR			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 188GB

APR-JUN		Mid-morning?		Pegasus XL		  Offshore
Payload is NASA's DART satellite.

MAY			To be announced		Peacekeeper		  ---
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 34-PA

MAY			Unknown			Minotaur		  SLC-8
Payload is STP-R1 satellite

MAY 26		03:01				Delta II		  SLC-2W
Payload is the CloudSat and CALIPSO environmental satellites

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. The Air Force will announce the
date and launch window about 36-hours in advance. SERV-1

JUN 5			Unknown			Delta IV		  SLC-2W
Payload is the DMSP-17 military weather satellite

JUN 30		To be announced		Titan IV		  SLC-4E
Classified National Reconnaissance Office payload. The DoD will
announce the launch time about 24-hours in advance. NROL-20

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

	         Southern California Astronomical Events
			       for 2005 February

			  Time
  Date		  (PST)			     Event
--------		---------		-----------------------------

FEB 1			23:27			Last Quarter
Moon Moon rises at midnight and sets at noon

FEB 3			11:00			Neptune Conjunction
Neptune passes behind the Sun and is lost in the Sun's glare.

FEB 5-6		---			Dark Sky Weekend
Best time this month to observe faint objects. Amateur astronomers
may hold observing sessions at dark sites

FEB 8			14:28			New Moon
Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun and is invisible. Moon
rises at sunrise and sets at sunset

FEB 14		03:00			Mercury Superior Conjunction
Mercury passes behind the Sun and is lost in the Sun's glare.

FEB 15		16:16			First Quarter
Moon Moon rises at noon and sets at midnight

FEB 23		20:54			Full Moon
Moon rises at sunset, sets at sunrise, and is visible all night

FEB 24		23:00			Uranus Conjunction
Uranus passes behind the Sun and is lost in the Sun's glare.

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

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.