[Launch Alert] Vandenberg AFB Launch Schedule

[Brian Webb]

                             LAUNCH ALERT

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

				            2007 March 1 (Wednesday) 03:47 PST
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		       VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
		           As of 2007 February 28

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

Late Winter       To be announced      Target          ---
A target missile 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      GBI             ---
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

MAY 24            To be announced      Delta II        SLC-2W
Payload is the Italian COSMO-SkyMed-1 Earth imaging satellite

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 March
                Computed for Los Angeles, California

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

MAR 1          18:00           Conjunction
The Moon passes 1.1° north of Saturn. Time of closest approach and
separation computed for the Earth's center and may vary significantly
depending on your location

MAR 3          15:17		 Full Moon
Moon rises at sunset, sets at sunrise, and is visible all night

MAR 5          07:21		 Uranus Conjunction
Uranus passes behind the Sun and is lost in the Sun's glare.

MAR 7          03:00		 Conjunction
The Moon passes 1.3° south of Spica. Time of closest approach and
separation computed for the Earth's center and may vary significantly
depending on your location

MAR 11         02:00		 Time Change
Daylight Savings Time begins. Set clocks ahead one hour

MAR 11         20:54           Last Quarter Moon
Moon rises at midnight and sets at noon

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

MAR 18         19:43           New Moon
Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun and is invisible. Moon rises
at sunrise and sets at sunset

MAR 21         18:48           Mercury Western Elongation
Mercury attains its greatest angular separation from the Sun and is
visible low in the east at dawn.

MAR 22         07:04           Jupiter Dual Shadow Transit
The shadows of Jupiter's moons Europa and Ganymede will cross the
planet's disk

MAR 25         00:00           Conjunction
Mars 1.0° south of Neptune. Time of closest approach and separation
computed for the Earth's center and may vary significantly depending
on your location

MAR 25         11:16           First Quarter Moon
Moon rises at noon and sets at midnight

MAR 28         21:00		 Conjunction
The Moon passes 1.2° north of Saturn. Time of closest approach and
separation computed for the Earth's center and may vary significantly
depending on your location

MAR 29         20:00           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

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                          WEB SITE UPDATES

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

  Urban Glow Hides Stars, Disrupts Animal Life
  www.spacearchive.info/news-2007-02-22-voa.htm

  Los Angeles Star Party
  www.spacearchive.info

  Spectra of Extra-Solar Planet Puzzles Astronomers
  www.spacearchive.info/news-2007-02-21-cit.htm

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Copyright © 2007 Brian Webb. All rights reserved. This newsletter may
be distributed in its entirety without restriction. Excerpts may be
not be reprinted or posted elsewhere without prior permission.