[Launch Alert] Mystery Launch - Part 3

[kd6nrp at earthlink.net]

I apologize for yet another e-mail on this topic. I have been on deadline this week and have been replying to inquiries on this subject in a rather disorganized fashion.



Anyway, the event shown in the news helicopter video is one of two things:



1. The launch of a small- or medium-sized solid fuel missile from the Point Mugu Sea Range, an established military test and training area close to Los Angeles used for live-fire tests of various types of missiles from San Nicolas Island, surface ships, submarines, etc.



2. A jet contrail. This is a real possibility. Jet aircraft passing through the "contrail zone" produce vapor trails. The area off of the California coast is one of the busiest air traffic areas in the U.S. During the cooler months of the year, the contrail zone drops down in altitude and often falls into the same altitude range as that used by many jet aircraft. Each year, between October and April, I get asked if Vandenberg AFB had launched something. These are almost always contrails. Depending on your perspective, a distant jet contrail can look like a climbing missile or launch aftermath.



The video "looked" like a missile launch. However, I would need to know if the news helicopter camera used normal magnification or zoomed-in to capture the event. A telephoto view of a distant jet could look like a missile.



The other important piece of information I would need to know is whether a Notice to Airmen or Notice to Mariners was in effect yesterday afternoon. A bit of caution here: In the past, the Coast Guard has had more or less permanent warnings on the books about some areas possibly being closed due to missile firings. This is not what I would need to see. I would want to know if there was a unique NOTAM or Notice to Mariners issued for that area for yesterday.



Once I obtained a NOTAM, I would look at the header to see which organization issued the notice (you often get a specific military base or unit).



Regards,



Brian Webb