[Launch Alert] Vandenberg AFB Launch Schedule

Wed Aug 2 22:50:14 EDT 2006

                             LAUNCH ALERT

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

				           2006 August 2 (Wednesday) 19:40 PDT
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		       VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
			       As of 2006 August 1

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

Late Summer		To be announced		Interceptor		---
Missile defense test. A mock warhead will be launched from Kodiak,
Alaska followed by a Ground-Based Midcourse Interceptor from
Vandenberg AFB. The test is primarily for ground radar
characterization. Warhead intercept is not an objective, but may
occur. The DoD will announce the launch window several hours in
advance. FT-2

NOV 4			To be announced		Delta IV		SLC-6
Payload is the DMSP F-17 military weather satellite

DEC			To be announced		Delta II		SLC-2W
Classified National Reconnaissance Office payload. The DoD will
announce the exact launch time several hours in advance. NROL-21

NET DEC 1		12:22-12:28?		Pegasus XL		Offshore
Airborne launch from L-1011 jumbo jet. Payload is the AIM scientific
satellite

JAN			To be announced		Atlas V		SLC-3E
Classified National Reconnaissance Office payload. The DoD will
announce the exact launch time several hours in advance. NROL-28

NET FEB		To be announced		Minuteman III	---
ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is one or more unarmed
warheads. Impact area is probably the Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein in
the central Pacific. The Air Force will announce the launch window a
few days in advance. GT-193GM

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	                  ASTRONOMICAL EVENTS
			           2006 August
                Computed for Los Angeles, California

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

AUG 2			01:46			First Quarter Moon
Moon rises at noon and sets at midnight

AUG 6			17:32			Mercury Western Elongation
Elusive Mercury attains its greatest angular separation from the Sun
and is visible low in the east at dawn.

AUG 7			04:54			Saturn Conjunction
Saturn passes behind the Sun and is lost in the Sun's glare.

AUG 9			03:54			Full Moon
Moon rises at sunset, sets at sunrise, and is visible all night

AUG 11, 12		00:00-04:40		Perseid Meteor Shower
Observers in dark locations should see several meteors per hour. The
shower is predicted to peak on AUG 12 at 16:00 PDT.

AUG 11-12		---			Conference
AstroImage 2006, Brea, CA. www.ocastronomers.org/astroimage/2006

AUG 15		18:51			Last Quarter Moon
Moon rises at midnight and sets at noon

AUG 19-20		---			Dark Sky Weekend
Best time this month to observe faint objects. Amateur astronomers may
hold observing sessions at dark sites

AUG 23		12:10			New Moon
Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun and is invisible. Moon rises
at sunrise and sets at sunset

AUG 26-27		---			Dark Sky Weekend
Best time this month to observe faint objects. Amateur astronomers may
hold observing sessions at dark sites

AUG 29		18:10			Lunar Conjunction
The Moon passes 5.1° south of Jupiter. Time of closest approach and
separation computed for the Earth's center and may vary significantly
depending on your location

AUG 31		15:57			First Quarter Moon
Moon rises at noon and sets at midnight

AUG 31		18:51			Lunar Conjunction
The Moon passes 0.5° north of Antares. Time of closest approach and
separation computed for the Earth's center and may vary significantly
depending on your location

AUG 31		21:49			Mercury Superior Conjunction
Mercury passes behind the Sun and is lost in the Sun's glare.

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