[Launch Alert] Vandenberg AFB Launch Schedule

Tue Jan 1 17:47:13 EST 2008

                             LAUNCH ALERT

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

				            2008 January 1 (Tuesday) 14:36 PST
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		       VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
		            As of 2007 December 31

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

FEB 26		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

Spring		To be announced	TLV			---
The vehicle will fly a ballistic trajectory to an impact area in the
Pacific. The NFIRE satellite will observe the launch from orbit and
collect data for the U.S. missile defense system. The DoD will
announce the launch window a day in advance.

Spring		To be announced	GBI			---
Scenario calls for the launch of a mock warhead from Kodiak, Alaska
followed by a Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) from Vandenberg AFB. The
DoD will announce the launch time several hours in advance.

Spring		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.

NET APR 17		To be announced	Delta II		SLC-2W
Vehicle will launch the Missile Defense Agency's STSS ATRR (STSS-2010)
payload

JUN 15		To be announced 	Delta II		SLC-2W
Delta II 7320 launch vehicle configuration. Payload is the
OSTM/Jason-2 scientific satellite. Spacecraft will enter a 1336 km,
circular, non-sun-synchronous orbit with an inclination of 66°. The
ground track will repeat every 10 days.

JUL			To be announced 	Atlas V		SLC-3E
Payload is the DMSP F-18 military weather satellite

Late AUG		To be announced 	Delta IV		SLC-6
Classified National Reconnaissance Office payload. The DoD will
announce the exact launch time several hours in advance. NROL-25

Late Summer		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-km), 98°, sun-synchronous orbit with a
10:30 a.m. equator crossing time

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	                   ASTRONOMICAL EVENTS
			          2008 January
                Computed for Los Angeles, California

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

JAN 4		00:00-05:30		Quadrantid Meteor Shower
Observers in dark locations should see several meteors per hour under
good conditions. Shower is predicted to peak on JAN 3 at 23:00 PST
(JAN 4 07:00 UTC).

JAN 5-6	---			Dark Sky Weekend
Best time this month to observe faint objects. Amateur astronomers may
hold observing sessions at dark sites

JAN 8		03:37			New Moon
Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun and is invisible. Moon rises
at sunrise and sets at sunset

JAN 15	11:46			First Quarter Moon
Moon rises at noon and sets at midnight

JAN 21	21:25			Mercury Eastern Elongation
Mercury attains its greatest angular separation from the Sun and is
visible low in the west at dusk.

JAN 22	05:35			Full Moon
Moon rises at sunset, sets at sunrise, and is visible all night

JAN 29	21:03			Last Quarter Moon
Moon rises at midnight and sets at noon

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