[Launch Alert] Launch Schedule

Tue May 2 21:09:37 EDT 2006

                             LAUNCH ALERT

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

				                2006 May 2 (Tuesday) 17:59 PDT
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		       VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
			        As of 2006 May 1

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

APR-JUN?		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.

JUN 14		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.

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?			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.

SEP?			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.

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

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	                   ASTRONOMICAL EVENTS
			            2006 May
                Computed for Los Angeles, California

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

MAY 4			07:36			Jupiter Opposition
Jupiter is opposite the Sun with respect to Earth and rises at sunset.

MAY 4			22:13			First Quarter Moon
Moon rises at noon and sets at midnight

MAY 7			20:20			Comet-Nebula Appulse
Brightest fragment of comet 73P/Schwassmann Wachmann 3 passes just
north of the Ring Nebula

MAY 12		23:51			Full Moon
Moon rises at sunset, sets at sunrise, and is visible all night

MAY 18		13:02			Mercury Superior Conjunction
Mercury passes behind the Sun and is lost in the Sun's glare.

MAY 20		02:21			Last Quarter Moon
Moon rises at midnight and sets at noon

MAY 20-21		09:00-17:00		Open House
Jet Propulsion Laboratory open house

MAY 26		22:26			New Moon
Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun and is invisible. Moon rises
at sunrise and sets at sunset

MAY 26-28		---			Conference
38th annual RTMC Astronomy Expo YMCA Camp Oakes (Big Bear), CA

MAY 27-28		---			Dark Sky Weekend
Best time this month to observe faint objects. Amateur astronomers may
hold observing sessions at dark sites

MAY 31		13:50			Lunar Conjunction
The Moon passes 3.5° north of Saturn. Time of closest approach and
separation computed for the Earth's center and may vary significantly
depending on you location

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