[Launch Alert] Vandenberg AFB Launch Schedule

Wed Apr 15 22:14:44 EDT 2009

                             LAUNCH ALERT

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

                               2009 April 15 (Wednesday) 19:00 PDT
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                   VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
                         As of 2009 April 15

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

MAY 5          To be announced         Delta II         SLC-2W
Payload is the Missile Defense Agency's Space Tracking and
Surveillance System Advanced Technology Risk Reduction (STSS ATRR)
satellite(s) 

Summer         ~09:12                  Atlas V          SLC-3
Payload is the DMSP F18 military weather satellite.  

SEP-OCT        To be announced         Delta II         SLC-2W
Payload is the WorldView-2 commercial reconnaissance satellite.  

Fall           To be announced         KEI              Unk
Vehicle test launch for Kinetic Energy Interceptor (KEI) missile
defense system  

The above schedule is a composite of unclassified information
approved for public release from government, industry, and other
sources. It represents the Editor's best effort to produce a schedule,
but may disagree with other sources. Details on military launches are
withheld until they are approved for public release. For official
information regarding Vandenberg AFB activities, go to
http://www.vandenberg.af.mil.

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                           PUBLIC LECTURE
          Ventura County Astronomical Society News Release

The Ventura County Astronomical Society (VCAS) will hold its monthly
membership meeting on Friday, April 17th at 7:30 PM at Mesa Union
School, 3901 Mesa School Road, Somis CA, in the Multipurpose Room.

The speaker will be Dr. Marusa Bradac, a research Scholar at the
University of California at Santa Barbara. Her presentation is titled
"The Dark Side Of The Universe.

Dr Bradac is a native of Slovenia and has degrees from both Slovenia
and Germany coupled with research experience from Stanford University. 

Dr. Bradac's presentation will expose properties of Dark Matter that
demonstrate two fundamental types of matter, one visible and one Dark.

Dr. Bradac and colleagues from around the world use the Hubble Space
Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Telescope to uncover properties of
Dark Matter. She will discuss how astronomers observe the invisible
matter in one of the true gems on the sky: a giant cluster of galaxies.

We will have a unique opportunity to be exposed to some of the true
wonders of cosmic astronomy. The public is invited to share in this
educational and enjoyable evening.

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