[Launch Alert] Vandenberg AFB Launch Schedule

Sun Aug 15 18:46:35 EDT 2010

                             LAUNCH ALERT

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

                                 2010 August 15 (Sunday) 15:28 PDT
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                   VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
                         As of 2010 August 15

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

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  

Late SEP        21:41-21:55            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°  

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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          SBSS MISSION LAUNCH PROJECTED FOR LATE SEPTEMBER
                    Los Angeles AFB News Release
                           2010 August 12

LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Air Force officials have
completed their assessment and implemented necessary corrective
actions associated with a Minotaur IV rocket software issue. That
issue had prompted the Air Force to delay its previously scheduled
July 8 launch of Space Based Space Surveillance. As the software
effort came to a close, the government and industry team identified a
potential mission risk associated with certain connectors used on
flight avionics components aboard the Minotaur IV launch vehicle. 

Inspections of the connectors aboard the rocket at Vandenberg AFB,
Calif. are underway now and will support validation that the rocket
hardware is flight ready. Upon completion of this inspection and any
needed hardware replacements, the team will identify a new launch
date, request that date on the western range, and continue
preparations for launch. The team expects that process will result in
a late September launch date. Officials confirm also there are no
issues with the spacecraft, which is safely in storage at the launch
base. Operations teams have continued exercises and rehearsals,
ensuring they will also be mission-ready once the spacecraft launches. 

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