[Launch Alert] Vandenberg AFB Launch Schedule

Tue May 3 00:02:51 EDT 2005

                             LAUNCH ALERT

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

				                 2005 May 2 (Monday) 20:46 PDT
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		       VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
			      As of 2005 April 30

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

MAY 11	   03:22:01-03:32:01	Delta II		  SLC-2W
Payload is the NOAA N environmental satellite

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

JUN?		   To be announced	Minuteman III	  ---
ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is one or more unarmed
warheads (probably Mk-12). 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.

JUL		   To be announced	Peacekeeper		  ---
ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is one or more unarmed
warheads (probably Mk-12). 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 test 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.

NET JUL 15	   ~03:00			Delta II		  SLC-2W
Payload is the CloudSat and CALIPSO environmental satellites

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 (probably Mk-12). 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 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

NET SEP	   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-25

SEP?		   To be announced	Minuteman III	  ---
ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is one or more unarmed
warheads (probably Mk-12). 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.

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

NET NOV	   To be announced	Delta II		  SLC-2W
Payload is the WorldView imaging satellite

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 May

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

MAY 2			~08:00		Lunar Conjunction
The Moon passes 3° south of Mars. Time and separation computed for the
Earth's center and may vary significantly depending on your location

MAY 7-8		---			Dark Sky Weekend
Best time this month to observe faint objects. Amateur astronomers may
hold observing sessions at dark sites

MAY 8			01:45			New Moon
Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun and is invisible. Moon rises
at sunrise and sets at sunset

MAY 14		01:00			Iapetus
Conjunction Saturn's moon Iapetus (magnitude +11.0) is in superior
conjunction with the planet and easy to find in moderate-sized amateur
telescopes

MAY 14		13:00			Planetary Conjunction
Uranus 1.2° north of Mars

MAY 16		01:56			First Quarter Moon
Moon rises at noon and sets at midnight

MAY 23		13:18			Full Moon
Moon rises at sunset, sets at sunrise, and is visible all night

MAY 23-24		23:56-01:15		Lunar Occultation
The Moon occults (passes in front of) the +1.2 magnitude star Antares.
Star disappears at 23:56 and reappears at 01:15. Times computed for
downtown Los Angeles and will vary depending on your location

MAY 30		04:47			Last Quarter Moon
Moon rises at midnight and sets at noon

MAY 30		~05:00		Lunar Conjunction
The Moon passes 3° south of Uranus. Time and separation computed for
the Earth's center. They may vary significantly for other locations

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