[Launch Alert] Minuteman III Launch

Mon Feb 5 21:36:58 EST 2007

                             LAUNCH ALERT

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

				            2007 February 5 (Monday) 18:32 PST
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                        MINUTEMAN III LAUNCH
                     Vandenberg AFB News Release

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – An unarmed Minuteman III
intercontinental ballistic missile is scheduled to launch from North
Vandenberg Wednesday morning as an operational test to demonstrate the
weapon system’s reliability and accuracy. The six-hour launch window
is from 12:01 to 6:01 a.m. PDT*.

The missile will launch under the direction of the 576th Flight Test
Squadron here.

Col. Jack Weinstein, 30th Space Wing commander, is the spacelift
commander.  Lt. Col. S. L. Davis, 576th FLTS commander, is the mission
director for this launch.

Members of the 576th FLTS installed tracking, telemetry and command
destruct systems on the missile to collect data and meet safety
requirements.

The missile's single unarmed re-entry vehicle is expected to travel
approximately 4,200 miles, hitting a pre-determined water target in
the Marshall Islands.

The entire ICBM community, including the Department of Defense and the
Department of Energy will use the data collected from this mission.

*This should probably say PST - Editor

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			        COUNTDOWN STATUS

Since this is a strategic weapon system test, countdown status will
probably not be available to the general public.

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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. Many questions about launch
viewing and photography can be answered by reading the following
pages:

   www.spacearchive.info/vafbview.htm

   www.spacearchive.info/vafbphoto.htm

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
messages.

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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