[Launch Alert] Vandenberg AFB Launch Schedule
Launch Alert
launch-alert at mailman.qth.net
Sat Nov 5 22:02:24 EDT 2011
LAUNCH ALERT
Brian Webb
Ventura County, California
launch-alert-editor at earthlink.net
www.spacearchive.info
2011 November 5 (Saturday) 18:47 PDT
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VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
As of 2011 November 5
Launch
Time/Window
Date (PST/PDT) Vehicle Pad/Silo
-------- ----------------- ------------- --------
FEB 25 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
MAR 29 To be announced Delta IV SLC-6
Vehicle will launch the classified NROL-25 payload for the U.S.
National Reconnaissance Office
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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DELTA II/NPP LAUNCH OBSERVATIONS
A Delta II rocket carrying the NPP earth observation spacecraft and
several university-built satellites was launched from Vandenberg AFB
in California on the morning of October 28 at 02:48:01.8 PDT. The
following are observations of the launch from Launch Alert readers and
the Editor. All observers were located in California.
Brian Bartky
Camarillo
Here's a video of today's NPP Delta II launch as seen from the front
yard of my house in Camarillo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4y5fziPbQVc
Carmelita and Charles
Dreamweaver Observatory
Fillmore
Both Charles and I observed the launch from Dreamweaver Observatory,
in Fillmore, CA. It was a very nice launch, but had a low trajectory
and disappeared in the tall bamboo from our vantage point. Charles
video taped it and I took film shots with a 300 mm lens on my Olympic
OM-1 at 400 ASA. I took 5-10 sec. exposures before it disappeared into
the bamboo trees. But still a nice launch with Orion pointing the way.
Temp at launch 44.8 degrees.
Jim Carr
Costa Mesa
I'm in Costa Mesa, Calif. Around 6:15 am, just as some orange was
showing on south east horizon, I saw what looked like a very twisted
vapor trail about 30 degrees above the south-south east horizon.
Don't know for sure but if upper level winds were blowing gently
east, it may have been the Delta trail if such can survive 3 1/2
hours when not exposed to sun.
Rick Mann
Milpitas
I was able to see the NPP launch very clearly from my home in
Milpitas, CA, about 200 mi away. Through basic binoculars, I could see
lots of detail in the plume, could see it expand as the rocket gained
altitude, and saw it flare out at MECO. I had several minutes of
excellent visibility.
It was really pretty fantastic.
Bill
Mountain View
Attached is a photo taken this morning about 6:44am from Mountain
View High School. I was driving my daughter to school and was
surprised to see what looked like noctilucent clouds in the
South-East sky before sunrise. Maybe these clouds are from the exhaust
of this morning's Delta-II launch out of Vandenburg.? I had to try and
take a picture before the sky got brighter but I only had a cell phone
camera with me.
Rick Rairden
Palo Alto
Nice clear view from Palo Alto, 37.41N, 122.15W.
Visible above my horizon for about 3 minutes.
Attached is a 15-sec time exposure, Canon PowerShot SX200, ~ 18 deg
fov.
Brian Webb
Ventura County
I planned to sleep through the launch, but I woke up in the middle of
the night and walked across the house. On my way back to bed, I looked
at the clock and it read 2:34, which was about 15 minutes before the
scheduled Delta II/NPP liftoff.
I went back to bed and tried to fall asleep, but quickly realized the
launch was just minutes away and I shouldn't miss it.
So I quickly got out of bed, got dressed, and checked
www.spaceflightnow.com the launch status. The countdown was under way
with just moments to go until liftoff.
At about T-90 seconds, I went into the backyard and started looking.
I quickly realized that my previously semi-obstructed western horizon
was now even more obstructed. The trees to my west and southwest had
become denser with more branches and leaves. Some trees had grown
taller.
I quickly spotted the bright orange, elongated flame from the solid
rocket motors strapped to the Delta II's first stage. Several seconds
later, the Delta suddenly decreased in brightness and became a white
moving point of light.
Toward the end of the first stage burn, the Delta was somewhat
brighter than Jupiter and appeared to have a long, very tenuous trail.
Perhaps someone who observed the launch from a location with a darker
sky can confirm if the trail actually existed.
At first stage main engine cutoff (MECO), the star-like condensation
at the front of the tenuous trail brightened for a fraction of a
second and the Delta suddenly disappeared from view. I knew from
observing previous Delta II night launches that second stage ignition
probably wouldn't be visible, so I went inside and went back to bed.
I left the house at 06:00. Before getting into my car, I did a quick
search of the eastern half of the sky for remnants of the launch.
Back around 2000, I discovered that the exhaust from early morning
Vandenberg launches often drifts toward the east and may be visible at
dawn when the Sun's rays illuminate the exhaust at high altitude while
the aftermath is suspended in a twilight sky. However, my search
failed to turn up any sign of the rocket's exhaust.
After I got on the road, I took occasional glances at the eastern
horizon, but still didn't see any trace of the launch.
At 06:20 I looked toward the east and bingo! There it was: The Delta
rocket's exhaust trail. I exited the 101 freeway at Las Posas in
Camarillo to fuel my car and to get a better look at the exhaust
trail.
The trail had a contorted, pretzel-like shape. The upper part of the
trail was mostly transparent with a subtle blue color. The bottom
center of the exhaust was denser and orange in color.
The aftermath covered an area of the sky from the horizon up to an
elevation of about 7.5°. The exhaust spanned the portion of the sky
from 070 to 130° in azimuth from true north. In other words, the
aftermath fit into a 7.5 x 60° rectangle that was parallel to the
horizon.
I departed Camarillo and monitored the exhaust in my side view mirror
as I headed up the coast on highway 101. I was able to see the
aftermath until about 06:45 when coastal mountains blocked my
eastern horizon.
The aftermath from the Delta II/NPP launch was more obvious and
covered a larger area of the sky than any similar display I have seen
thus far from an early morning Vandenberg rocket or missile launch.
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