[Launch Alert] Vandenberg AFB Launch Schedule

Thu Jun 2 22:03:29 EDT 2005

                             LAUNCH ALERT

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

				              2005 June 2 (Thursday) 18:45 PDT
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		       VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
			       As of 2005 June 1

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

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

JUL?			To be announced		Peacekeeper		---
ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is one or more unarmed
warheads. Impact area is 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. This will be the last Peacekeeper
launch from Vandenberg AFB.

JUL 10		To be announced		Titan IV		SLC-4E
Classified National Reconnaissance Office payload. The DoD will
announce the launch time about 24-hours in advance.

AUG?			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.

AUG?			To be announced		Minuteman III	---
ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is one or more unarmed
warheads. Impact area is 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.

AUG 22		~03:00			Delta II		SLC-2W
Payload is the CloudSat and CALIPSO environmental satellites

AUG 30		To be announced		Delta IV		SLC-6
Classified National Reconnaissance Office payload. The DoD will
announce the launch time about 24-hours in advance. NRO L-22

SEP?			To be announced		Minuteman III	---
ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is one or more unarmed
warheads. Impact area isthe Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein in the
central Pacific. The Air Force will announce the date and launch
window about 36-hours in advance.

SEP 30		To be announced		Delta II		SLC-6
Classified National Reconnaissance Office payload. The DoD will
announce the launch time about 24-hours in advance. NRO L-21

NOV			To be announced		Delta IV		SLC-6
Payload is the DMSP F-17 military weather satellite

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	        SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ASTRONOMICAL EVENTS
			          for 2005 June

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

JUN 2			20:34			Jupiter Dual Shadow Transit
The shadows of Jupiter's moons Io and Europa are visible on planet's
disk.

JUN 3			02:00			Mercury Superior Conjunction
Mercury passes behind the Sun and is lost in the Sun's glare.

JUN 4-5		---			Dark Sky Weekend
Best time this month to observe faint objects. Amateur astronomers may
hold observing sessions at dark sites

JUN 6			14:55			New Moon
Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun and is invisible. Moon rises
at sunrise and sets at sunset

JUN 9			22:29			Jupiter Dual Shadow Transit
The shadows of Jupiter's moons Io and Europa are visible on planet's
disk.

JUN 14		18:22			First Quarter Moon
Moon rises at noon and sets at midnight

JUN 16		~00:00		Lunar Conjunction
The Moon passes 0.4° south of Jupiter. Time and separation computed
for the Earth's center. They may vary significantly for other
locations

JUN 21		21:14			Full Moon
Moon rises at sunset, sets at sunrise, and is visible all night

JUN 25		00:54			Iapetus Conjunction
Saturn's moon Iapetus (magnitude +11.0) is in inferior conjunction
with the planet and easy to find in moderate-sized amateur telescopes

JUN 25		14:00			Planetary Conjunction
Saturn 1.3° south of Venus

JUN 25		23:00			Planetary Conjunction
Saturn 1.4° south of Mercury

JUN 27		13:00			Planetary Conjunction
Venus 0.08° north of Mercury

JUN 28		11:23			Last Quarter Moon
Moon rises at midnight and sets at noon

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