[Launch Alert] Vandenberg AFB Launch Schedule

Thu Jun 15 22:43:55 EDT 2006

                             LAUNCH ALERT

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

				             2006 June 15 (Thursday) 19:38 PDT
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		       VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
			        As of 2006 June 15

This schedule lists rocket and missile launches from Vandenberg AFB for
the next six months. It is a composite of unclassified information
approved for public release from government, industry, and other
sources. This schedule is essentially accurate at the time of
publication, but may disagree with other sources. Details on military
launches are withheld until they are approved for public release.

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

JUN 27	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

JUL 19	To be announced		Minuteman III	  LF-09
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.

Late
Summer	To be announced		Interceptor		  ---
Missile defense test. A mock warkhead 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

SEP?		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.

SEP 29	13:22-13:28			Pegasus XL		  Offshore
Payload is the AIM satellite. Airborne launch.

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

NOV 15	To be announced		Atlas V		  SLC-3E
Classified National Reconnaissance Office payload. The DoD will
announce the exact launch time several hours in advance. NRO L-28

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                        MINUTEMAN III LAUNCH
		         Vandenberg AFB News Release
                            2006 June 14

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – An unarmed Minuteman III
intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from Launch
Facility-04 on North Vandenberg at 1:22 a.m. today.

The primary purpose of the launch was to assess and demonstrate the
operational effectiveness of the Minuteman III weapon system.

The missile’s three unarmed re-entry vehicles traveled approximately
4,800 miles in about 30 minutes, hitting pre-determined targets at the
Kwajelin Missile Range in the western chain of the Marshall Islands.

Col. Jack Weinstein, 30th Space Wing commander, was the spacelift
commander.  Lt. Col. S.L. Davis, 576th Flight Test Squadron commander,
was the mission director.

"While ICBM launches from Vandenberg almost seem routine, each one
requires a tremendous amount of effort and absolute attention to
detail in order to accurately assess the current performance and
capability of the Nation's fielded ICBM force that is always on-alert
in Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska," Colonel
Davis said.  “This specific test will provide key accuracy and
reliability data for on-going and future modifications to the weapon
system, which are key to improving the already impressive effectiveness
of the Minuteman III force.”

The data collected from the mission will be used by the entire ICBM
community, including the Department of Defense and the Department of
Energy.

“Each successful launch provides information critical in maintaining
and improving our superior space force,” Colonel Weinstein said. “It’s
important that each Airman who sees one of these launches, knows that
he or she helped make that happen, regardless of their specialty.”

The reliability and accuracy data will also be used by United States
Strategic Command planners to ensure effective employment of the
Minuteman III, should it be required.

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                   MERCURY LINGERS IN THE TWILIGHT
    Mercury makes a brief appearance as Mars cavorts with Saturn
                   Astronomy Magazine News Release
                            2006 June 14

      Astronomy magazine offers publication-quality graphics at
          www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=4324

WAUKESHA, WI — Night-sky treats abound this week as we near summer’s
official start. Three planets, each visible to the unaided eye, now
grace evening twilight — Mars, Saturn, and elusive Mercury. Mars and
Saturn buzz the famous Beehive star cluster in Cancer, while Mercury
makes its evening swan song for 2006. Also, June 21 is the summer
solstice — the first day of summer and the longest day of the year in
the Northern Hemisphere.

Mercury’s cameo
---------------

Mercury is the planet with the smallest orbit around the Sun, so it
always appears in twilight. We view Mercury’s orbit almost edge-on
from Earth, so, from our perspective, Mercury seems to oscillate from
one side of the Sun to the other as the planet orbits. Each time
Mercury’s travels pull it away from the Sun’s glare, skygazers on
Earth have a fleeting chance to view Mercury shortly after sunset or
before sunrise.

Astronomers refer to Mercury’s greatest angle east (visible in the
evening) or west (morning) of the Sun as an “elongation.” This week
and next, Mercury brightens and stands higher in the western sky as it
approaches its greatest eastern elongation June 20, when the planet
stands 25° from the Sun. This is the best opportunity to see Mercury
in the evening sky for the remainder of 2006.

Begin looking for a bright starlike point in the western twilight
about 20 minutes after sundown. Mercury will be about 12° above the
horizon, or slightly higher than the width of a fist held at arm’s
length, and glowing at about magnitude 0.2. After June 20, the planet
fades quickly, becoming harder to see in the twilight, and begins a
fast slide back toward the Sun.

Mercury's orbit
---------------

Mercury orbits the Sun at an average distance of only 36 million miles
(58 million kilometers). Earth is nearly 3 times as far, so, from our
perspective, Mercury always stays near the Sun.

When Mercury is west of the Sun, we view the planet as a “morning
star” in the east before sunrise. Some elongations are better for
viewing than others because of Earth's tilt and Mercury's out-of-round
orbit.

Scope view
----------

Through a telescope, observers will watch Mercury go through phases
similar to the Moon's. On June 14, the planet's disk is more than
50-percent illuminated. At greatest elongation, Mercury's disk will
appear 38-percent lit. After this, it shrinks to a crescent and fades
rapidly.

Most observers detect no surface markings on Mercury. It takes a
seasoned observer and excellent atmospheric conditions to see anything
at all on the planet, even through the largest amateur telescopes.
Experienced amateurs, however, have recorded dusky markings and
occasional bright areas on the planet.

Mars and Saturn tango
---------------------

As darkness falls and Mercury slips too low to see easily, look for a
pair of bright stars above the planet. These are Pollux (left,
magnitude 1.1) and Castor (right, magnitude 1.6), the brightest stars
of Gemini the Twins.

Look above and to Gemini’s left for a “star” brighter than Castor and
Pollux. This is Saturn, now gleaming at magnitude 0.4. Hovering nearby
is a ruddy “star” a bit fainter than Castor: the Red Planet, Mars.

This week, Mars courses through the famous Beehive cluster (M44) in
the constellation Cancer the Crab — a great treat for anyone who owns
binoculars or telescopes. On June 15, as Saturn watches from the wings
about 1.2°; away, Mars gleams like a brownish-yellow jewel in the
midst of the star cluster’s smattering of stars.

Two nights later, June 17, Mars passes 0.6° north of Saturn.
Low-power, rich-field telescopes will show both planets in the same
field of view. Mars lies in the foreground, 212 million miles (341
million km) away. Saturn is 917 million miles (1.48 billion km) away,
while the Beehive cluster forms the backdrop 580 light-years away. The
cluster itself is about 10 light-years across.

Quick facts about Mercury:
--------------------------

Mercury orbits the Sun every 87 days, 23 hours, and 18 minutes. For
every 1 Earth year, Mercury experiences 4.

Mercury's diameter is 3,032 miles (4,850 km) — slightly larger than
Earth’s Moon.

Mercury’s largest known feature is the Caloris impact basin. It is
more than 800 miles (1,280 km) wide.

>From Mercury, the Sun is 6.3 times brighter than from Earth.

NASA’s Mariner 10 spacecraft studied Mercury during three flybys
between 1973 and 1975. This mission mapped about 45 percent of the
planet and provided the first and, so far, only close-up views of
Mercury.

Mercury will next pass in front of (or transit) the Sun November 8,
2006. This event will be visible from the United States.

Also in the sky (June 13—22):

June 17 — Mars 0.6° north of Saturn
June 18 — Last Quarter Moon, 10:08 a.m. EDT
June 20 — Mercury at greatest eastern elongation (25°). Elongation is
          the apparent angular separation of an object from the Sun.
June 20 — Mercury 6° south of Pollux
June 21 — Summer solstice 8:26 a.m. EDT
June 22 — Venus 6° south of the Moon in the predawn sky

Astronomy magazine staff members are interviewed regularly on
television, radio, and print media. We are experienced in translating
high-level astronomy jargon into easy-to-understand language — we
bring the out-of-this-world down to Earth.

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