[Launch Alert] Delta II Launch Scheduled

Sat Sep 15 23:02:53 EDT 2007

                             LAUNCH ALERT

			            Brian Webb
		         Ventura County, California
		             kd6nrp at earthlink.net
	               http://www.spacearchive.info

				        2007 September 15 (Saturday) 19:46 PDT
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                      DELTA II LAUNCH SCHEDULED
                     Vandenberg AFB News Release

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Vandenberg is scheduled to launch
a Boeing Delta II rocket carrying the DigitalGlobe WorldView-1
satellite, Tuesday between 11:35 and 11:49 a.m. from Space Launch
Complex-2 on north Vandenberg.

Col. Stephen Tanous, 30th Space Wing commander, will be the spacelift
commander for this mission.

The WorldView-1 satellite will provide high-resolution images of
Earth.

This launch will take place on the Air Force's 60th Anniversary. In
its short but noble history, the Air Force has established itself as
the preeminent provider of Air and Space and Cyberspace capabilities.

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         DIGITALGLOBE ANNOUNCES LAUNCH DATE FOR WORLDVIEW-1
          Satellite Delivered to Vandenberg Air Force Base
                     DigitalGlobe Press Release

LONGMONT and BOULDER, Colo. and WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Aug. 13 - Ball
Aerospace & Technologies Corp., ITT Corporation and DigitalGlobe, the
provider of the world's highest-resolution imagery and geospatial
information products, today announced delivery of its WorldView-1
satellite to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for its scheduled
launch on Tuesday, September 18, 2007. WorldView-1 is the first of two
new next-generation satellites DigitalGlobe plans to launch.

Upon launch on September 18, WorldView-1 will undergo a calibration
and check out period and will deliver imagery soon after. First
imagery from WorldView-1 is expected to be available prior to October
18, the sixth anniversary of the launch of QuickBird, DigitalGlobe's
current satellite. WorldView-1 will have an average revisit time of
1.7 days and will be capable of collecting up to 750,000 square
kilometers (290,000 square miles) per day of half-meter imagery. The
satellite will also be equipped with state-of-the- art geo-location
accuracy capabilities and will exhibit stunning agility with rapid
targeting and efficient in-track stereo collection.

"This is a momentous milestone that brings us one step closer to the
launch of our next-generation satellite system," said Jill Smith, CEO
of DigitalGlobe. "The addition of WorldView-1 and WorldView-2 in the
coming months will bring the total number of satellites DigitalGlobe
has in orbit to three, completing a constellation of spacecraft that
will offer the highest collection capacity, more than 1 million square
kilometers per day."

WorldView-1 is part of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
(NGA)'s NextView program. The NextView program is designed to ensure
that the NGA has access to commercial imagery in support of its
mission to provide timely, relevant and accurate geospatial
intelligence in support of national security. The majority of the
imagery captured by WorldView-1 for the NGA will also be available for
sale through DigitalGlobe's archive. Additionally, the launch of
WorldView-1 immediately frees up capacity on DigitalGlobe's QuickBird
satellite to meet the growing commercial demand for multi-spectral
geospatial imagery.

"Ball Aerospace and DigitalGlobe have worked side-by-side on
commercial remote sensing satellites for more than a decade to create
one of the most capable systems in orbit," said David L. Taylor,
president and CEO of Ball Aerospace. "The next-generation WorldView-1
and WorldView-2 satellites will capture more imagery than ever before
due to the flexibility afforded by the Control Moment Gyro-based
system designed by Ball Aerospace."

"Not only will ITT's digital imaging sensor for WorldView-1 boast
half-meter resolution with three-meter geo-location, it'll do so using
less space, weight and power than any previously launched system,"
said Frank Koester, vice president and director, Commercial & Space
Sciences Programs, ITT Space Systems Division, based in Rochester, New
York. "ITT looks forward to the successful test and launch of
WorldView-1, followed by further success providing the sensor system
for DigitalGlobe's WorldView-2."

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			        COUNTDOWN STATUS

A good source of countdown status for the Delta II/WorldView-1 launch
is the Spaceflight Now web site. Point your browser to:

   http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d326/status.html

On launch day, this page will be updated frequently beginning at about
T-1 hour. Be sure to regularly hit the refresh button on your browser
to see the latest information.

Boeing plans to broadcast the launch via the Internet at:

   http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/bls/missions/worldview-1/

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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

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		       VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
			     As of 2007 September 15

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

SEP 18	11:35-11:49			Delta II		SLC-2W
Payload is the Worldview 1 commercial Earth imaging satellite. The
booster will use the Delta-7920-10C configuration and insert the
payload into a 493 x 504-km sun-synchronous orbit with an inclination
of 97.5°. Boeing will broadcast the launch via the Internet at
http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/bls/missions/worldview-1/

Summer?	To be announced		Minuteman III	---
The vehicle will probably send one or more unarmed warheads on a
ballistic trajectory to an impact area in the Central Pacific. The Air
Force will announce the launch date and window a few days in advance.

Fall		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 test was attempted on MAY 25, but was aborted after
the target missile malfunctioned following launch.

2007?		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

FEB 21	To be announced		Delta II		SLC-2W
Payload is the Missile Defense Agency's Block 2010 satellite

JAN-MAR	To be announced		Delta II		SLC-2W
Payload is the GeoEye 1 commercial Earth imaging satellite. The
booster will use the Delta-7420-10C configuration and insert the
payload into a 425-mile (684-kilometer), 98°, sun-synchronous orbit
with a 10:30 a.m. equator crossing time

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