[Launch Alert] Vandenberg AFB Launch Schedule

Wed Nov 15 21:46:59 EST 2006

                             LAUNCH ALERT

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

			              2006 November 15 (Wednesday) 18:37 PST
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		       VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
		            As of 2006 November 15

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

DEC 7			       To be announced     Delta II	      SLC-2W
Classified National Reconnaissance Office payload. The DoD will
announce the exact launch time several hours in advance. NROL-21

Late 2006-early 2007	 To be announced     Interceptor    SLC-2W
An anti-missile interceptor will attempt to destroy a mock warhead
launched from Kodiak, Alaska. The DoD will announce the exact launch
time several hours in advance

NET FEB			 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. GT-193GM

NET MAR 29               Mid-day?            Pegasus XL     Offshore
Vehicle will be air-dropped from an L-1011 jumbo jet staged from
Vandenberg AFB. Payload is the AIM scientific satellite

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

NET MAY 31		       To be announced     Delta II	      SLC-2W
Payload is the Missile Defense Agency's Block 2010 satellite

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                         LAUNCH OBSERVATIONS

Over the years I've asked Launch Alert readers for their launch
observations. I'm now in the process of going through several years of
observations and posting them on my web site.

If you have sent me a launch observation in the past, but do not want
it published, please contact me at kd6nrp at erthlink.net.

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                METEORS STREAK INTO VIEW THIS WEEKEND

A favorable Moon phase and a prediction of dozens of meteors per hour
make this year's Leonid meteor shower one worth staying up late to
see.

Access Astronomy magazine's online media kit for this event at
http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=4671.

                  Astronomy Magazine News Release
                          2006 November 14

WAUKESHA, WI - This Saturday night, the annual Leonid meteor shower
could put on a good show. The meteor shower is active November 14-21,
but astronomers expect heightened activity from about 11:45 p.m. until
1:33 a.m. EST November 18/19. A New Moon November 20 means moonlight
won’t pose much of a problem for this year's late-night light show.

The skinny:

In the United States, the Leonid's radiant — the point in the sky
where the meteors seem to come from - will be low in the eastern sky,
which will reduce the number of visible meteors. Models indicate this
year's Leonid meteors will be less massive than in the past years,
which means they won't be as bright.

Bottom line: If people want to see Leonids this year, they'll have to
find a dark sky.

Look to the east

The shower's radiant lies in the constellation Leo, which rises in the
east on the 18th. Leo is high enough above the horizon for good meteor
viewing around midnight. If you’re observing the shower from North
America, you could see a few dozen meteors per hour from a dark-sky
location.

No equipment necessary

You don't need a telescope or binoculars to watch the Leonid meteor
shower. Viewing is best away from lighted areas where you can see the
eastern horizon. Warm clothing and an unobstructed view of the sky are
all you need to enjoy the Leonid meteor shower.

What causes this meteor shower?

The Leonid meteor shower is the result of Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle's
passages about the Sun. Tempel-Tuttle has an orbital period of about
33 years, which means the comet will again reach perihelion - its
closest approach to the Sun - in 2031. Then, 55P will leave more
material in its wake as the Sun's heat melts it.

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