[Launch Alert] Vandenberg AFB Launch Schedule

Sun Aug 1 22:08:40 EDT 2010

                             LAUNCH ALERT

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

                                  2010 August 1 (Sunday) 18:54 PDT
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                   VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
                         As of 2010 August 1

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

AUG?           Evening                 Minotaur IV     SLC-8
Payload is the Space-Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) satellite.
Delayed from OCT due to concerns with the launch vehicle. Delayed from
July 8 due to a software anomaly discovered with a Minotaur IV at the
factory. Vehicle will insert the payload into a 540 km circular orbit
with an inclination of 98°  

SEP 15         To be announced         Minuteman III   ---
Vehicle will probably send one or more unarmed warheads on a ballistic
trajectory to the central Pacific. Launch will be conducted by a
missile task force from the 91st Missile Wing, Minot Air Force Base,
North Dakota. Details about this launch were publicly released by Air
Force Global Strike Command Public Affairs JUL 29.  

SEP 20         To be announced         Atlas V         SLC-3E
Vehicle will launch the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office's NROL-41
payload  

OCT 29         19:21-19:34             Delta II        SLC-2W
Vehicle will launch the COSMO-SkyMed 4 radar Earth-imaging satellite.
Launch window opens near the end of deep evening twilight  

NOV 22         02:09                   Taurus XL       576E
Payload is the Glory scientific satellite. Vehicle will carry three
small satellites as secondary payloads: Explorer 1 Prime (Montana
State University), Hermes (University of Colorado), and KySat-1
(Kentucky space consortium).  

JAN 15         To be announced         Delta IV Heavy  SLC-6
Vehicle will launch the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office's NROL-49
payload  

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.

All launch dates and times are given in Pacific Time using a 24-hour
format similar to military time (midnight = 00:00, 1:00 p.m. = 13:00,
11:00 p.m. = 23:00, etc.). 

The dates and times in this schedule may not agree with those on other
online launch schedules, including the official Vandenberg AFB
schedule because different sources were used, the information was
interpreted differently, and the schedules were updated at different
times.

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        ICBM TEST LAUNCHES SHOWCASE GLOBAL STRIKE CAPABILITIES
                            2010 July 29
                    by Tech.Sgt. Marcus McDonald
           Air Force Global Strike Command Public Affairs

BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La.  -- The chance to launch two Air Force
Global Strike Command Minuteman III ICBM test vehicles in June, was a
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for two missile crews.

Missile maintenance and operational task forces from F.E. Warren AFB,
Wyo., and Malmstrom AFB, Mont., combined with the 576th Flight Test
Squadron at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., to launch the missiles June 16 and
30 for a "very rare and extraordinary opportunity," said Capt. Isaac
Earnhart, 341st Operations Support Squadron missile combat crew
commander.

These Malmstrom and F.E. Warren crews continue a 50-year record of
deterring potential adversaries. It is a unique training opportunity
for crews to turn the launch keys that send an actual missile
rocketing into the sky. 

The process is careful and deliberate. 

"You don't get a second chance with an ICBM test launch," said Mr.
Richard Serrano, 576 FLTS instrumentation laboratory team chief at
Vandenberg. "You have to do it right the first time." 

A successful launch is also a moment of pride for the missile
maintenance team, according to Tech. Sgt. Robert Houck, 341 MMXS
missile handling team chief at Malmstrom. "It shows what we work on
is still a vital weapons system...there's a certain pride in ownership
in knowing they put it together and watched it take off," he said.

"Every flight test provides valuable experience to the crews and an
evaluation of the missile's accuracy and reliability in its intended
operational environment," said Col. Carl DeKemper, 576th FLTS
Commander at Vandenberg. "These launches are part of a continuous
self-assessment of our proficiency."

The final launch sequence begins years earlier as pre-determined
criteria are used to carefully select a missile from the field and
then transport it hundreds of miles to Vandenberg for processing by
the 576 FLTS, said Capt. Douglas Carmean, 576 FLTS chief of ICBM test
operations. 

"The process requires deposturing a missile on alert after months of
detailed monitoring and shipping the 60,000-lb. missile nearly half
the length of the country," said Capt. Earnhart, missile combat crew
commander at Malmstrom who took part in the June 30 launch. 

Once it has been transported, all missile components are individually
inspected. Test equipment is installed and all components are reunited
at the launch facility to once again take the shape of a flight-ready
missile.

Teams from the operational missile bases come to Vandenberg and
assemble the missile as they would at their home bases, said 1st Lt.
Jared Hostetler, 341st Missile Maintenance Squadron mechanical flight 
commander at Malmstrom. The test launches validate maintenance
technicians' skills from the operational wings, he said. 

Prior to the launch, missile crew are certified by undertaking
intensive simulated test launches, Serrano said. Launch day is like
the Super Bowl to the missile community, a rare opportunity to see the
pay-off all of the preparation, said Capt. Earnhart.

Another Minuteman III launch is scheduled from Vandenberg Sept. 15, by
a missile task force from the 91st Missile Wing, Minot Air Force Base,
N.D. 

**Note: Col. David Bliesner will accept command of the 576th Flight
Test Squadron during a change of command ceremony Aug. 2.

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