[Launch Alert] Minuteman III Launch

Mon Jul 17 22:21:59 EDT 2006

                             LAUNCH ALERT

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

				               2006 July 17 (Monday) 19:20 PDT
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                        MINUTEMAN III LAUNCH
                     Vandenberg AFB News Release
                            2006 July 17

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – An unarmed Minuteman III
intercontinental ballistic missile is scheduled to launch from North
Vandenberg Wednesday morning as an operational test to demonstrate the
weapon system’s reliability and accuracy. The six-hour launch window
is from 1:01 to 7:01 a.m. PDT.

The missile will launch under the direction of the 576th Flight Test
Squadron here.

Col. John Raymond, 30th Operations Group commander, is the spacelift
commander or final "go-for-launch" authority.

Members of the 576th FLTS here installed tracking, telemetry and
command destruct systems on the missile to collect data and meet
safety requirements.

The missile's three unarmed re-entry vehicles are expected to travel
approximately 4,200 miles, hitting a pre-determined water target in
the Marshall Islands.

This joint operation combines Air Force and Army range tracking and
weather surveillance.

The entire ICBM community, including the Department of Defense and the
Department of Energy will use the data collected from this mission.

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                      MINUTEMAN LAUNCH VIEWING

Wednesday morning's Minuteman III launch occurs two days after last
quarter Moon. If the launch happens at the start of the window, the
thick crescent Moon will be rising or just above the horizon for
observers near the California coast. If the Moon is above the horizon,
the additional light will hamper launch visibility somewhat for
observers in outlying areas.

The missile's first stage burn, the brightest portion of the launch,
should be visible to the naked eye at least as far away as Monterey,
Fresno, and Long Beach.

The fainter second and third stage burns should be visible over a
much wider area provided you use a dark observing site and binoculars
or other optical assistance.

If you have an astronomical telescope, you will probably get an even
better view. Common amateur telescopes work very well for viewing
launches and often reveal phenomena and events totally invisible to
the naked eye.

For information about launch viewing and photography, refer to the
following web pages:

   www.spacearchive.info/vafbview.htm

   www.spacearchive.info/vafbphoto.htm

Since Wednesday's launch is a military weapon system test, there will
be no publicly available countdown status.

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                        E-MAIL CONSIDERATIONS

In the days leading up to a launch, I'm often very busy and have a
hard time answering questions via e-mail, so don't feel bad if you
don't elicit a response. Many launch-related questions can be
answered by carefully your Launch Alert or referring to the web pages
mentioned above.

More importantly, please ask me before you attempt to e-mail any
launch images.

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