[Launch Alert] Delta IV Launch

Sun Jun 25 22:29:26 EDT 2006

                             LAUNCH ALERT

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

				               2006 June 25 (Sunday) 19:22 PDT
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                           DELTA IV LAUNCH
                     Vandenberg AFB News Release

Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. – Vandenberg AFB is set to conduct
the inaugural West Coast launch of a Boeing Delta IV rocket June 27.
The launch period will be 7 to 9 p.m. The rocket will carry a payload
for the National Reconnaissance Office.

Col. Jack Weinstein, 30th Space Wing commander, is the spacelift
commander, or final "go for launch" authority, for this mission. The
30th Space Wing is the Air Force Space Command organization
responsible for all Department of Defense space and missile launch
activities on the West Coast of the United States.

Tuesday's Delta IV launch will use the medium+ configuration of the
booster's five design options, which enables it to place payloads in
orbit ranging from nearly 9,000 pounds to more than 27,000 pounds.

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                            LAUNCH NOTES
                             Brian Webb

The Delta IV/NROL-22 launch is scheduled for sometime this Tuesday
evening between 19:00 and 21:00 PDT. Note that 19:00-21:00 is not the
launch window; it is a larger time block within which the actual
launch window falls. The exact launch time will probably be made
available to the public shortly before lift-off.

A Boeing media kit with background information on the launch is
available at www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/delta/media.htm.

Updated information throughout the mission will be available on the
Boeing Launch Hotline at (714) 896-4770.

Boeing will broadcast the launch via satellite throughout the
continental United States at:

  Satellite: AMC 1, Transponder C17
  Orbital Location: 103 Degrees West
  Downlink Frequency: 4040 MHz Horizontal
  Audio Channels: 6.2 and 6.8

Boeing also plans to provide a webcast of the launch at
www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/delta/media.htm.

A good source of countdown status for the launch is the Spaceflight
Now web site. Space journalist Justin Ray is now providing current
countdown status on a web page devoted to this launch. Point your
browser to www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d317/status.html.

On launch day, this page will be updated frequently beginning at about
T-1 hour. Be sure to regularly hit the refresh button on your browser
to see the latest information.

The California coast is often plagued by low clouds and fog this time
of year. The best viewing locations will probably be those that are
fairly close to south Vandenberg, but high enough to be above the
Marine Layer. The Santa Barbara County mountains east of Refugio Pass
and east of highway 154 would be my first choice. Of course, if you
choose to view the launch from the mountains, allow plenty of time to
get to your destination and drive with extreme care (mountain roads
are dangerous!).

The launch may be visible as far away as 150 to several hundred miles,
depending on the lighting conditions. If lift-off take place during
evening twilight, the display may be spectacular because the rocket's
sunlit exhaust plume may be suspended against a dark sky background.

If the launch occurs at, or just before, sunset at Vandenberg, the sky
in Nevada and Arizona will be much darker and observers in those
places may be treated to a nice twilight display.

Since we don't yet know the exact launch time, those interested in
photographing the launch should be prepared to take their photos
under lighting conditions that could vary from late afternoon to
evening twilight.

For more information on launch viewing and photography, go to:

   www.spacearchive.info/vafbview.htm

   www.spacearchive.info/vafbphoto.htm

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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.

Following a launch, I receive anywhere from a handful to literally
hundreds of e-mails. However, just when I may be under a deadline and
trying to send an important e-mail, I can be flooded with incoming
launch observations and photos any my e-mail access incapacitated.

To prevent any problems, I ask that you do the following:

   - Only send images that are of high quality

   - Send no more than three images

   - Do not send any photo, video, or other attachments larger than
     750 kB.

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			           TIME FORMAT

All times in this newsletter are given in Pacific Time using a 24-hour
format based on military time. Under this system, regular time is
expressed as follows:
                                          24-hour
			     Regular Time       Format
			---------------------   -------
			12:00 a.m. (midnight)    00:00
			6:00  a.m.			 06:00
			12:00 p.m. (noon)        12:00
			6:00  p.m.               18:00

No distinction is made between Pacific Standard Time and Pacific
Daylight Time.

For assistance in converting military time to regular time, go to:

	http://www.spacearchive.info/military.htm

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