[Launch Alert] Pegasus Launched

Wed Mar 22 21:22:55 EST 2006

                             LAUNCH ALERT

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

				           2006 March 22 (Wednesday) 18:14 PST
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        NASA'S SPACE TECHNOLOGY 5 SATELLITES SOAR INTO SPACE
                          NASA News Release

NASA's Space Technology 5 successfully launched today* at 9:04 a.m.
EST, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on a Pegasus XL rocket.

ST5 is testing new micro-spacecraft technologies and operations'
techniques. The three spacecraft will conduct science validation
using measurements of the Earth's magnetic field collected by the
miniature boom-mounted magnetometers on each.

Initial contact with ST5 was made at 9:27 a.m. EST, as the spacecraft
passed over the McMurdo Ground Station in Antarctica.

Art Azarbarzin, ST5 project manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight
Center, Greenbelt, Md., described next week's planned activities for
the spacecraft. "During the first day, we ensure the three craft are
correctly operating. During the next few days, we deploy and test the
magnetometer booms. Finally we prepare them for the science
demonstration and make any necessary orientation adjustments,"
Azarbarzin said.

Miniaturized components and technologies are integrated into each of
the ST5 micro-satellites. Each micro-satellite weighs approximately
25 kilograms (55 pounds) when fully fueled and is about the size of a
13 inch television.

Jim Slavin, ST5 project scientist at Goddard said, "The lessons
learned from the development and flight of ST5's three full-service
micro-spacecraft constitute a major step toward the use of
constellations or swarms of small spacecraft to accomplish science
that cannot be done with a single spacecraft, no matter how capable."

Although small compared to their counterparts, each of the spacecraft
is considered full service. They contain power, propulsion,
communications, guidance, navigation and control functions found in
larger spacecraft.

The spacecrafts' orbit is a "string of pearls," in a near-Earth polar
elliptical that will take them from approximately 300 kilometers (190
miles) to 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles) from the planet.

They start out only a few meters apart. Within approximately 20 days,
they are placed into a formation 40 to 200 km (approximately 25 to
125 miles) apart from each other to perform coordinated multi-point
measurements of the Earth's magnetic field. This type of measurement
is useful for future missions that will study the effect of solar
activity on the Earth's magnetosphere; the magnetic bubble that
surrounds Earth and helps to protect it from harmful space radiation.

The ST5 project was built and tested at Goddard for NASA's Science
Mission Directorate. It is an instrumental part of the New Millennium
Program, which develops and tests critical and revolutionary
technologies needed to enable future endeavors in space. For
information about the ST5 project and mission on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/st5

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/home

* Wednesday, March 22 - Editor

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             NOW IS THE BEST TIME TO SEE VENUS THIS YEAR
                  Astronomy Magazine Press Release

WAUKESHA, WI — The “morning star” Venus lights the sky before dawn,
heralding spring’s arrival. On March 25, the brilliant planet reaches
its greatest western elongation — when the planet is as far west of
the Sun as possible. Then, it sits just above the horizon in the
east-southeast sky 2 hours before sunrise. Look for the waning
crescent Moon passing to the right of the “morning star.” Venus will
be the bright object just to the upper left of the Moon.

Each day thereafter, Venus’ sky position sinks closer to the horizon.
Venus shone at its brightest, magnitude –4.6, in February, but the
planet will dominate the morning sky throughout summer.

Take a Look

To the naked eye, Venus’ light rivals only moonshine in the early
morning sky. But you can use a telescope to watch as the planet
changes phases, like the Moon’s, during the year. By March 25, its
globe measures 25" through a telescope and has fattened to half-lit.
It’s at its brightest for the year now; even though the phase
increases, its angular size decreases as the Earth-Venus distance
increases.

Venus’ Orbit

Our “sister planet” lies an average of 67 million miles (108 million
kilometers) from the Sun. Because Venus lies closer to the Sun than
Earth, it always appears close to our star in the sky.

On March 26, Venus and the Moon help you spot a rarely seen planet:
Neptune. At about 5 a.m. local time, Venus appears slightly north of
(above) Neptune. The Moon lies just below and to the left of the
planets.

Quick Facts

- Venus orbits the Sun in 225 days.

- The planet is about 7,521 miles (12,104 km) in diameter, or 95
  percent the size of Earth.

- Venus spins on its axis once every 243 days, but it spins in the
  opposite direction of Earth — on Venus, the Sun rises in the west
  and sets in the east.

- Venus’ atmosphere is thick sulfuric-acid clouds, which reflect
  sunlight extremely well.

- The surface temperature on Venus can approach 900º Fahrenheit (482º
  Celsius); it’s the hottest place in the solar system after the Sun.

- In Roman mythology, Venus was identified with the goddess of love
  and beauty, Aphrodite. To the ancient Mayans, Venus was the patron
  planet of warfare called Kukulcan (the feathered serpent).

Also in the Sky

- Throughout March — Saturn lies high in the southeast. An hour after
  sunset, the ringed planet shines at magnitude 0 and stands among the
  faint stars of Cancer the Crab.

- Through the end of March — Jupiter can be spotted in the southwest
  sky in the predawn sky.

- Wednesday, March 29 — A total solar eclipse darkens the sky over
  northern Africa and Asia. Astronomy magazine is leading two tour
  groups through the eclipse path. Visit Astronomy.com for special
  coverage.

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RAYTHEON'S UPGRADED EARLY WARNING RADAR PARTICIPATES SUCCESSFULLY IN
                   KEY MISSILE DEFENSE FLIGHT TEST
                       Raytheon Press Release

TEWKSBURY, Mass., -- Raytheon Company's Upgraded Early Warning Radar
(UEWR) at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., performed successfully in a
flight test of the Ground Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) element of the
Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). The test was conducted by the
Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Feb. 23.

The UEWR, developed by Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS),
successfully tracked the target system launched from the Kodiak Launch
Center, Alaska, for approximately 20 minutes during its flight
downrange to the test area several hundred miles west of California.

"This was a critical test of the missile defense capability of the
UEWR, and we're pleased that the radar appears to have performed
flawlessly," said Pete Franklin, vice president, Raytheon IDS Missile
Defense. "This first GMD flight test for the Beale UEWR is
particularly significant because it successfully demonstrated the
radar's capability to provide information to the GMD system in support
of an interceptor engagement."

Dave Gulla, director of Early Warning Radar Programs for Raytheon IDS,
said, "Based on our initial assessment at Beale, our radar and test
team achieved all planned objectives, successfully operated with the
other components in the GMD system and provided intercept-quality
tracking and object classification data as planned."

Continuing the Raytheon heritage with UHF phased array radars, the
Beale UEWR program upgrades existing PAVE PAWS and Ballistic Missile
Early Warning System radars by adding missile defense capabilities
while retaining legacy missile warning and space surveillance
missions. A key sensor for the MDA's BMDS, UEWR provides "no doubt"-
midcourse target detection and tracking for the GMD portion of the
BMDS to protect the U.S. from ballistic missile attacks. Boeing
Integrated Defense Systems is the prime contractor for the GMD
program.

Based in Tewksbury, Mass., Integrated Defense Systems is Raytheon's
leader in Joint Battlespace Integration. With a strong international
and domestic customer base, including the U.S. Missile Defense Agency
and the U.S. armed forces, Integrated Defense Systems provides
integrated air and missile defense and naval and maritime warfighting
solutions.

Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN), with 2005 sales of $21.9 billion, is an
industry leader in defense and government electronics, space,
information technology, technical services, and business and special
mission aircraft. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon
employs 80,000 people worldwide.

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