[Launch Alert] Vandenberg AFB Launch Schedule

Mon Jan 2 21:28:26 EST 2006

                             LAUNCH ALERT

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

				             2006 January 2 (Monday) 18:16 PST
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		       VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
			      As of 2006 January 2

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

2006			To be announced		Delta IV		SLC-6
Classified National Reconnaissance Office payload. The DoD will
announce the exact launch time several hours in advance. NRO L-22

2006			To be announced		Delta IV		SLC-6
Payload is the DMSP F-17 military weather satellite

NET Mid-FEB		~02:00			Delta II		SLC-2W
Payload is the CloudSat and CALIPSO environmental satellites

Mid-FEB?		10:00-13:00?		Falcon I		SLC-3W
Payload is the Naval Research Laboratory's TacSat-1 satellite. The
vehicle will carry the ashes of U.S. astronaut Gordon Cooper, Star
Trek actor James "Scotty" Doohan and several other people into space.
The launch window is fixed and does not change if the launch date
changes.

FEB 15		To be announced		Minuteman III	LF-10
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 launch window a few
days in advance.

FEB 28		05:57:21-07:19:21		Pegasus XL		Offshore
Payload is JPL's SpaceTech 5 microsatellites. Possible twilight effect
because launch window opens during morning twilight and payload will
be placed in a 2,800-mile-high orbit

MAR?			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 launch window a few
days in advance.

MAR 31		Unknown			Minotaur		SLC-8
Payload is COSMIC and Taiwan's FORMOSAT-3 scientific satellites

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	        SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ASTRONOMICAL EVENTS
			        for 2006 January

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

JAN 3			00:00-05:30		Quadrantid Meteor Shower
Observers in dark locations should see several meteors per hour. The
shower is predicted to peak on JAN 3 at 10:00 PST.

JAN 6			10:56			First Quarter Moon
Moon rises at noon and sets at midnight

JAN 9			11:02			Jupiter Dual Shadow Transit
The shadows of Jupiter's moons Europa and Ganymede are visible on
planet's disk.

JAN 14		01:48			Full Moon
Moon rises at sunset, sets at sunrise, and is visible all night

JAN 15		01:57			Spacecraft Reentry
NASA's Stardust sample return spacecraft reenter the atmosphere as it
heads for a landing in Utah. The event might be visible to the unaided
eye from north-central Nevada. http://reentry.arc.nasa.gov/index.html
http://reentry.arc.nasa.gov/viewingforum.html

JAN 15		05:11			Lunar Conjunction
The Moon passes 3.8° north of Saturn. Time of closest approach and
separation computed for the Earth's center and may vary significantly
depending on your location

JAN 22		07:14			Last Quarter Moon
Moon rises at midnight and sets at noon

JAN 23		12:20			Lunar Conjunction
The Moon passes 4.7° south of Jupiter. Time of closest approach and
separation computed for the Earth's center and may vary significantly
depending on your location

JAN 25		04:06			Lunar Conjunction
The Moon passes 0.03° south of Antares. Time of closest approach and
separation computed for the Earth's center and may vary significantly
depending on your location

JAN 27		14:48			Saturn Opposition
Saturn is opposite the Sun with respect to Earth and rises at sunset.

JAN 28-29		---			Dark Sky Weekend
Best time this month to observe faint objects. Amateur astronomers may
hold observing sessions at dark sites

JAN 29		06:15			New Moon
Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun and is invisible. Moon rises
at sunrise and sets at sunset

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                          WEB SITE UPDATES

A 2006 astronomical events calendar has been uploaded and is
available at http://www.spacearchive.info/astrosked.htm.

Sunrise/sunset, moonrise/moonset, and astronomical twilight start/end
times are now available for 22 Southwest U.S. cities. In past years,
this data was only given for Los Angeles. The information is posted at
the following locations:

  www.spacearchive.info/sunrise-sunset.htm

  www.spacearchive.info/twilight.htm

  www.spacearchive.info/moonrise-moonset.htm

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