[Launch Alert] Vandenberg AFB Launch Schedule

Thu Feb 1 21:38:11 EST 2007

                             LAUNCH ALERT

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

			                2007 February 1 (Thursday) 18:33 PST
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		       VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
			      As of 2007 February 1

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

FEB 7			00:01-06:01			Minuteman III	  LF-10
ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is one or more unarmed
warheads. Impact area is Kwajalein in the central Pacific. Launch
visibility will be diminished somewhat by the Moon which will be low
in the southeast and 78% illuminated. GT-193GM

Late Winter		To be announced		Target		  ---
A target missile (basically a refurbished Minuteman II) will be
launched for the Missile Defense Agency to test a new sea-based X-band
radar. The DoD will announce the exact launch time several hours in
advance

Early Spring	To be announced		Interceptor		  ---
An anti-missile interceptor launched from Vandenberg AFB will attempt
to intercept a mock warhead launched from Kodiak, Alaska. This test is
very similar to the test conducted on 2006 SEP 1. Test delayed from
December-January to allow for software changes and upgrades to the
interceptor. The DoD will announce the exact launch time several hours
in advance

APR 25		13:25:16?			Pegasus XL		  Offshore
Vehicle will be air-dropped from an L-1011 jumbo jet staged from
Vandenberg AFB. Payload is the AIM scientific satellite. There is
uncertainty regarding the launch time; it is either 13:25:16 or
16:25:26 PDT.

NET AUG 23		To be announced		Delta II		  SLC-2W
Payload is the Missile Defense Agency's Block 2010 satellite

Unknown		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

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	                   ASTRONOMICAL EVENTS
			          2007 February
                Computed for Los Angeles, California

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

FEB 1			21:45			Full Moon
Moon rises at sunset, sets at sunrise, and is visible all night

FEB 3			06:00			Conjunction
The Moon passes 1.1° north of Regulus. Time of closest approach and
separation computed for the Earth's center and may vary significantly
depending on your location

FEB 7			05:00			Conjunction
Venus 0.7° south of Uranus. Time of closest approach and separation
computed for the Earth's center and may vary significantly depending
on your location

FEB 7			09:41			Mercury Eastern Elongation
Mercury attains its greatest angular separation from the Sun and is
visible low in the west at dusk.

FEB 8			07:54			Neptune Conjunction
Neptune passes behind the Sun and is lost in the Sun's glare.

FEB 10		01:51			Last Quarter Moon
Moon rises at midnight and sets at noon

FEB 10		10:43			Saturn Opposition
Saturn is opposite the Sun with respect to Earth and rises at sunset.

FEB 17-18		---			Dark Sky Weekend
Best time this month to observe faint objects. Amateur astronomers
may hold observing sessions at dark sites

FEB 17		08:14			New Moon
Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun and is invisible. Moon rises
at sunrise and sets at sunset

FEB 22		19:00			Lecture
Free public lecture "The Dawn Mission to the Asteroid Belt", JPL,
Pasadena, California. www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures/feb07.cfm

FEB 22		20:36			Mercury Inferior Conjunction
Mercury passes between the Earth and the Sun and is lost in the Sun's
glare.

FEB 23		11:56			First Quarter Moon
Moon rises at noon and sets at midnight

FEB 23		19:00			Lecture
Free public lecture "The Dawn Mission to the Asteroid Belt", Pasadena
City College, Pasadena, California.
www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures/feb07.cfm

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                          WEB SITE UPDATES

The following news stories were recently added to the Space Archive
web site:

DOE Supports UC Santa Cruz Dark Matter and Supernovae Research
http://www.spacearchive.info/news-2007-01-16-ucsc.htm

Advanced EHF Payload Antennas Integrated
http://www.spacearchive.info/news-2007-01-23-ngc.htm

USAF Environmental Satellite Begins Operation
http://www.spacearchive.info/news-2007-01-29-lmco.htm

Last year the CALIPSO spacecraft was launched aboard a Delta II rocket
from Vandenberg AFB. Satellite tracker Gregg Hendry recently
photographed the flash from a laser onboard the satellite. His
interesting image is posted at www.spacearchive.info under the title
"Laser from Space".

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