From launch-alert at mailman.qth.net  Wed Aug  3 23:40:22 2011
From: launch-alert at mailman.qth.net (Launch Alert)
Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2011 20:40:22 -0700
Subject: [Launch Alert] Vandenberg AFB Launch Schedule
Message-ID: <000701cc5258$3eb3c430$bc1b4c90$@net>

      
                             LAUNCH ALERT
 				  
                              Brian Webb
                     Ventura County, California
                  launch-alert-editor at earthlink.net
                        www.spacearchive.info
		       
                               2011 August 3 (Wednesday) 20:36 PDT
----------------------------------------------------------------------

                   VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
                         As of 2011 August 3

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

AUG 10           To be announced         Minotaur IV        SLC-8
The Department of Defense will probably release the launch
window/launch time and other mission details a few days in advance.  

NET OCT 25       02:47:35-02:57:35       Delta II           SLC-2W
Vehicle will launch the NPP environmental satellite for NASA and NOAA  

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.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

                  MINUTEMAN III LAUNCH OBSERVATIONS

An unarmed Minuteman III strategic missile was launched from
Vandenberg AFB in California on the morning of July 27 at 03:01 PDT.
The following are launch observation from Launch Alert readers and
the Editor.


Rick Rairden
Palo Alto, California

Nice clear view from Palo Alto ...
Been awhile since I watched a Minuteman. 
Westward ballistic trajectories are much more visible from here than
the southward orbital launches. 

Visible for about 120 seconds with one staging event in the middle, 
so I must have seen only the 2nd and 3rd stages.

Abrupt disappearance was southwest near rho Sagittarii, about az 224,
alt 20 deg.


Patrick Wiggins
Tooele, Utah

I'll be interested to see in your next Launch Alert email if this
morning's Minuteman launch went off as scheduled as I was able to see
from here in northern Utah "something" ascending in the SW (about
225-235 degrees azimuth) from about 04:04:00 to 04:04:20 MDT.  Red in
color and it faded rapidly at the end.  When it faded it was about 8
degrees above a relatively low horizon.

I've seen two VAFB launches from here before but both were backlit by
the recently set Sun...

Observed with 10x50 binoculars.
Skies were mostly cloudy so I lucked out in that there was a largish
hole in just the right place.


Brian Webb
Ventura County, California

I did not watch the actual launch. However, since I get up very early
on weekdays, I made a point to go outside to check if missile's exhaust
was visible because it was being illuminated at high altitude by the
Sun.

I stepped into my front yard at 05:25 PDT. Although it had started to
get light outside, it was still somewhat dark and the sky was a
medium to dark blue-gray.

At first, I didn't see anything. But high in the sky, I noticed a
very diffuse, milky-white haze. Although the approaching sunrise
would be capable of illuminating natural high clouds, it was much too
early for that to happen. Besides, any natural high clouds would be
tinted red or orange.

I went outside again at 05:43 PDT. The sky was brighter and the
diffuse, milky-white haze was no longer visible.

Over the years, I have seen an approaching sunrise illuminate the
exhaust of several other early morning or pre-dawn Vandenberg
launches after the exhaust had drifted east-southeast from the launch
site.

Based on my experience, I am fairly confident that what I saw was the
sunlit exhaust from that morning's Minuteman launch.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

                   COSMONAUT COMMUNICATIONS HEARD

Pete Rowe (WA6WOA), a radio enthusiast in northern California heard
radio communications this morning from Russian spacesuit radios as
cosmonauts were leaving the hatch on the International Space Station
(ISS) for a space walk.

Rowe heard the signals from San Jose at 09:25 PDT on 130.168 MHz
during a high elevation pass. He told Launch Alert "I don't speak
Russian so all I understood was 'Da' and 'Nyet'."

He heard the cosmonauts again, but poorly, one orbit later as they
passed far to his west.

To hear the signals, Rowe used a 144 MHz cross-polarized yagi amateur
radio antenna and an Icom R-7000 receiver.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

                          SPEAKING OF RADIO

The SpaceWeather.com newsletter reports that on August 2nd, the sun
hurled a cloud of plasma (CME) toward Earth when magnetic fields above
a sunspot erupted.

According to the report, "analysts expect the CME to arrive during the
early hours of August 5th, possibly sparking geomagnetic storms around
the poles. This is not a big event; the eruption that propelled the
cloud in our direction registered only "M1" (for medium) on the
Richter Scale of Flares. Nevertheless, sky watchers at high latitudes
should be alert for auroras."

Although much of the western U.S. is too far south to see auroras,
another manifestation of solar eruptions can be seen, or better yet,
heard. Solar eruptions can degrade or even knock out shortwave radio
communications for hours at a time.

If you own a shortwave receiver, you may want to regularly tune
across shortwave from 7 to 22 MHz to get a feel of what normal
conditions are like. If a solar eruption is expected to reach Earth,
try to check shortwave conditions around the predicted arrival time.

As you may know, I am an amateur radio or "ham" operator. Unlike many
of my radio counterparts, who dislike poor shortwave conditions from
solar eruptions, I find the resulting disturbances interesting and try
be on the air when they strike.

If you're a ham, try looking for me on 20 and 40 meters in the evening
from 20:00-20:30 PDT. I operate QRS CW (slow speed Morse Code) on
14,036.0 and 7,047.0 KHz +/1 1 KHz.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

                       LAUNCH ALERT WEB PAGE

For information about this newsletter, including how to:

   - Subscribe, unsubscribe, or change addresses

   - Make a donation

Point your browser to www.spacearchive.info/newsletter.htm

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright 2011, Brian Webb. All rights reserved. This newsletter may
be distributed in its entirety without restriction. Excerpts may not
be reprinted or posted elsewhere without prior permission.


From launch-alert at mailman.qth.net  Sun Aug  7 22:55:39 2011
From: launch-alert at mailman.qth.net (Launch Alert)
Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2011 19:55:39 -0700
Subject: [Launch Alert] Next Vandenberg Launch
Message-ID: <001801cc5576$ac2c7b80$04857280$@net>


                             LAUNCH ALERT
 				  
                              Brian Webb
                     Ventura County, California
                  launch-alert-editor at earthlink.net
                        www.spacearchive.info
		       
                                  2011 August 7 (Sunday) 19:49 PDT
----------------------------------------------------------------------

                       NEXT VANDENBERG LAUNCH
                           by Brian Webb

The next Vandenberg AFB missile launch is a Minotaur IV on August 10
during a 07:00-13:00 PDT launch window. The Minotaur is scheduled to
send the unmanned HTV-2 hypersonic vehicle downrange.

Liftoff is probably slated for the instant the launch window opens,
but it can happen at any time during the window.

The Minotaur IV uses solid propellant and should produce a thick,
white smoke trail. Barring any clouds or fog, casual observers using
only the naked eye may notice the launch from as far away as 50 miles.
Observers specifically looking for the launch who are facing in the
right direction at the right time, may see the event from as far away
as 100 miles.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

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----------------------------------------------------------------------

                       LAUNCH ALERT WEB PAGE

For information about this newsletter, including how to:

   - Subscribe, unsubscribe, or change addresses

   - Make a donation

Point your browser to www.spacearchive.info/newsletter.htm

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright 2011, Brian Webb. All rights reserved. No portion of this
newsletter may be used without identifying Launch Alert as the
source and providing a functioning hyperlink or text that point to
http://www.spacearchive.info/newsletter.htm.



From launch-alert at mailman.qth.net  Mon Aug  8 22:20:53 2011
From: launch-alert at mailman.qth.net (Launch Alert)
Date: Mon, 8 Aug 2011 19:20:53 -0700
Subject: [Launch Alert] Wednesday Vandenberg Launch
Message-ID: <006e01cc563a$fdd776f0$f98664d0$@net>

    
                             LAUNCH ALERT
 				  
                              Brian Webb
                    Ventura County, California
                 launch-alert-editor at earthlink.net
                       www.spacearchive.info
		       
                                  2011 August 8 (Monday) 19:13 PDT
----------------------------------------------------------------------

                   MINOTAUR IV LAUNCH SCHEDULED
                    Vandenberg AFB News Release
                           2011 August 8

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Team Vandenberg is scheduled to
launch a Minotaur IV from Space Launch Complex-8 here between 7 a.m.
and 1 p.m. Aug. 10.  

The rocket's payload is the Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency's Hypersonic Test Vehicle-2.

The 30th Space Wing commander, Col. Richard Boltz, is the launch
decision authority.

The Minotaur IV is a four-stage solid rocket vehicle consisting of
three decommissioned Peacekeeper missile stages and a fourth,
commercially-built stage developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation. 

For more information on the HTV-2, please see http://go.usa.gov/KnE. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------

         AIR FORCE PREPARES TO LAUNCH DARPA HYPERSONIC VEHICLE
         U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Center News Release
                            2011 August 8

LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, El Segundo, Calif. - The second flight of
the Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2, developed by the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency, is scheduled to launch Wednesday at 7 a.m.
PDT from Space Launch Complex 8 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.,
aboard a Minotaur IV Lite rocket.

The early morning launch is the second flight of HTV-2 in a test
series designed to validate technologies that will enable
high-performance, long-duration, and maneuverable hypersonic flight.  

Furthermore, the HTV-2 program serves as a demonstration of the
hypersonic technologies that are needed to achieve a prompt global
reach capability.

This will be the 4th launch of Orbital Sciences Corporation's
Minotaur IV rocket which uses decommissioned Peacekeeper
intercontinental ballistic missile motors. This is also the 9th launch
for the Minotaur program from Vandenberg AFB, Space Launch Complex 8.
DARPA selected the Minotaur IV launch vehicle highlighting the
responsive, reliable and cost-effective nature of the rocket. 

The Minotaur family of launch vehicles are provided via the
Orbital/Suborbital Program 2 and managed by the U.S. Air Force Space
Development and Test Directorate's Launch Systems Division located at
Kirtland AFB, NM.

"The first flight of HTV-2 allowed DARPA to greatly increase our
understanding of the hypersonic environments encountered by the
vehicle; the data collection was a resounding success. The entire team
is looking forward to yet another successful flight demonstration for
our DARPA partners," said Col. Kent Nickle, Chief of SMC/SD's Launch
Systems Division and HTV-2 Flight 2 Mission Director.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

                       LAUNCH ALERT WEB PAGE

For information about this newsletter, including how to:

   - Subscribe, unsubscribe, or change addresses

   - Make a donation

Point your browser to www.spacearchive.info/newsletter.htm

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright 2011, Brian Webb. All rights reserved. No portion of this
newsletter may be used without identifying Launch Alert as the
source and providing a functioning hyperlink or text that point to
http://www.spacearchive.info/newsletter.htm.


From launch-alert at mailman.qth.net  Wed Aug 10 08:26:14 2011
From: launch-alert at mailman.qth.net (Launch Alert)
Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2011 05:26:14 -0700
Subject: [Launch Alert] Launch on Schedule
Message-ID: <005801cc5758$b96bcc90$2c4365b0$@net>

Today's launch of a Minotaur IV Lite launch vehicle from Vandenberg AFB
appears to be on schedule. The launch window runs from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00
p.m. PDT.


From launch-alert at mailman.qth.net  Wed Aug 10 12:26:58 2011
From: launch-alert at mailman.qth.net (Launch Alert)
Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2011 09:26:58 -0700 (GMT-07:00)
Subject: [Launch Alert] Launch Delayed
Message-ID: <6458093.1312993619034.JavaMail.root@elwamui-muscovy.atl.sa.earthlink.net>

Editor's Note: Vandenberg AFB public affairs said the the reason for the delay was clouds, showers, and areas of lightning downrange and that weather conditions downrange look more favorable tomorrow. The following is the Vandenberg AFB news release:


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 10, 2011

MINOTAUR IV LAUNCH DELAYED

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - The Minotaur IV rocket scheduled to
launch from Space Launch Complex-8 here between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. (PDT) Aug.
10 has been delayed due to poor weather conditions downrange. 

The launch has been rescheduled for Aug. 11 between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The rocket's payload is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's
Hypersonic Test Vehicle-2.

For more information on the HTV-2, please see http://go.usa.gov/KnE.


From launch-alert at mailman.qth.net  Thu Aug 11 12:16:44 2011
From: launch-alert at mailman.qth.net (Launch Alert)
Date: Thu, 11 Aug 2011 09:16:44 -0700 (GMT-07:00)
Subject: [Launch Alert] Minotaur IV Launched
Message-ID: <3801637.1313079404954.JavaMail.root@mswamui-thinleaf.atl.sa.earthlink.net>


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 11, 2011

TEAM VANDENBERG LAUNCHES MINOTAUR IV 

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Team Vandenberg launched a Minotaur
IV from Space Launch Complex-8 here at 7:45 a.m. Aug. 11.  

The rocket's payload was the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's
Hypersonic Test Vehicle-2.

For more information on the HTV-2, please see http://go.usa.gov/KnE.


From launch-alert at mailman.qth.net  Sat Aug 13 22:08:24 2011
From: launch-alert at mailman.qth.net (Launch Alert)
Date: Sat, 13 Aug 2011 19:08:24 -0700
Subject: [Launch Alert] Launch Follow-up
Message-ID: <004601cc5a27$143f0300$3cbd0900$@net>


                             LAUNCH ALERT
 				  
                              Brian Webb
                     Ventura County, California
                  launch-alert-editor at earthlink.net
                        www.spacearchive.info
		       
                               2011 August 13 (Saturday) 18:54 PDT
----------------------------------------------------------------------

                 MINOTAUR IV/HTV-2 LAUNCH FOLLOW-UP

Last Thursday, a Minotaur IV Lite booster carrying the HTV-2 aircraft
was launched from Vandenberg AFB. Although the launch appeared to be
successful, contact was later lost with the unmanned HTV-2.

This issue of Launch Alert presents additional information about the
flight along with an observation of the launch.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

        DARPA HYPERSONIC VEHICLE ADVANCES TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE
  HTV-2 collects unique data during several phases of second flight
       Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency News Release
                         2011 August 11

Today, DARPA attempted to fly the fastest aircraft ever built. The
Agency's Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2) is designed to
fly anywhere in the world in less than 60 minutes. This capability
requires an aircraft that can fly at 13,000 mph, while experiencing
temperatures in excess of 3500F. The second test flight began with
launch at 0745 Pacific Time. The Minotaur IV vehicle successfully
inserted the aircraft into the desired trajectory. Separation of the
vehicle was confirmed by rocket cam and the aircraft transitioned to
Mach 20 aerodynamic flight. This transition represents a critical
knowledge and control point in maneuvering atmospheric hypersonic
flight. More than nine minutes of data was collected before an anomaly
caused loss of signal. Initial indications are that the aircraft
impacted the Pacific Ocean along the planned flight path.

"Here's what we know," said Air Force Maj. Chris Schulz, DARPA HTV-2
program manager and PhD in aerospace engineering. "We know how to
boost the aircraft to near space. We know how to insert the aircraft
into atmospheric hypersonic flight. We do not yet know how to achieve
the desired control during the aerodynamic phase of flight. It's
vexing; I'm confident there is a solution. We have to find it."

"Prior to flight, the technical team completed the most sophisticated
simulations and extensive wind tunnel tests possible. But these
ground tests have not yielded the necessary knowledge. Filling the
gaps in our understanding of hypersonic flight in this demanding
regime requires that we be willing to fly," said DARPA Director
Regina Dugan. "In the April 2010 test, we obtained four times the
amount of data previously available at these speeds. Today more than
20 air, land, sea and space data collection systems were operational.
We'll learn. We'll try again. That's what it takes."

According to Schulz, three technical challenges exist within this
HTV-2 flight regime.  They are categorized as aerodynamic;
aerothermal; and guidance, navigation and control.  And each phase of
flight introduces unique obstacles within these areas. 

"To address these obstacles, DARPA has assembled a team of experts
that will analyze the flight data collected during today's test
flight, expanding our technical understanding of this incredibly harsh
flight regime," explained Schulz.  "As today's flight indicates,
high-Mach flight in the atmosphere is virtually uncharted territory. "

In the coming weeks, the assembled independent Engineering Review
Board will review and analyze the data collected. This data will
inform policy, acquisition and operational decisions for future
Conventional Prompt Global Strike programs-the goal of which,
ultimately, is to have the capability to reach anywhere in the world
in less than one hour.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

                         LAUNCH OBSERVATION

Despite Launch Alert's large number of readers, only one person
reported seeing Thursday's Minotaur IV Lite/HTV-2 launch.

Stan wrote:

"Saw the launch Thursday morning from east of Morgan Hill, CA - in the
hills at an elevation of 2,000 ft.  Saw the contrail rising in the S/W
morning sky, and watched the rocket climb into the sky and then
disappear. Was able to see the the rocket for approximately one
minute. The trail looked like the contrail from a jet, except it was
traveling in the wrong direction and very fast!! Love seeing those
rocket launches..."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

                       LAUNCH ALERT WEB PAGE

For information about this newsletter, including how to:

   - Subscribe, unsubscribe, or change addresses

   - Make a donation

Point your browser to www.spacearchive.info/newsletter.htm

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright 2011, Brian Webb. All rights reserved. No portion of this
newsletter may be used without identifying Launch Alert as the
source and providing a functioning hyperlink or text that point to
http://www.spacearchive.info/newsletter.htm.



From launch-alert at mailman.qth.net  Tue Aug 16 23:13:21 2011
From: launch-alert at mailman.qth.net (Launch Alert)
Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:13:21 -0700
Subject: [Launch Alert] Vandenberg AFB Launch Schedule
Message-ID: <000901cc5c8b$a029df50$e07d9df0$@net>


                             LAUNCH ALERT
 				  
                              Brian Webb
                     Ventura County, California
                  launch-alert-editor at earthlink.net
                        www.spacearchive.info
		       
                                2011 August 16 (Tuesday) 20:02 PDT
----------------------------------------------------------------------

                   VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
                         As of 2011 August 16

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

SEP 21           To be announced         Minuteman III       ---
The vehicle will probably send an unarmed warhead on a ballistic
trajectory to the central Pacific. The Defense Department will release
the launch window and other details a few days in advance.  

NET OCT 25       02:48:01-02:57:11       Delta II            SLC-2W
Vehicle will launch the NPP environmental satellite for NASA and NOAA  

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.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

                         LAUNCH OBSERVATIONS

Last week, Launch Alert stated that only one person reported seeing
the 2011 August 11 Minotaur IV Lite/HTV-2 launch from Vandenberg AFB.
Since then, additional observers submitted the following reports:


Matt Smith. KK6HL
Northeast of Lancaster, Calif.

Since you reported that only 1 person reported this, let's fix it.

>From the intersection of Ave. E and 50th St East, NE of Lancaster CA,
I observed the contrail only, starting at about 0745 PDT. By the time
I caught the contrail, (I was driving north at the time and could only
risk occasional glances to the West) it had already been considerably
distorted by upper level winds.  


Mike Laughlin
Mojave, Calif.

Watched the launch from Mojave. It was a good view of the contrail as
it went up and from our angle appeared to almost turn down just before
we could no longer see it.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

                       LAUNCH ALERT WEB PAGE

For information about this newsletter, including how to:

   - Subscribe, unsubscribe, or change addresses

   - Make a donation

Point your browser to www.spacearchive.info/newsletter.htm

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright 2011, Brian Webb. All rights reserved. No portion of this
newsletter may be used without identifying Launch Alert as the
source and providing a functioning hyperlink or text that point to
http://www.spacearchive.info/newsletter.htm.



