[Launch Alert] White Sands Launch

[Launch Alert]

                             LAUNCH ALERT
 				  
                              Brian Webb
                     Ventura County, California
                  launch-alert-editor at earthlink.net
                        www.spacearchive.info
		       
                            2012 February 29 (Wednesday) 21:02 PST
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                      FRIDAY WHITE SANDS LAUNCH
                CIBER Launch Rescheduled for March 2
                   NASA Wallops Flight Facility
                          2012 February 28

A NASA two-stage Black Brant IX suborbital sounding rocket is
scheduled for launch March 2 from the White Sands Missile Range in New
Mexico. The rocket will be carrying the Cosmic Infrared Background
ExpeRiment (CIBER) for the California Institute of Technology. The
launch is scheduled between 4:02 and 4:37 a.m. MST (6:02 and 6:37 a.m.
EST). The optical astrophysics payload is projected to fly to
approximately 200 miles apogee during its 15 minute flight. The
launch was postponed on February 25 to give the team time to check
the fin settings on the Black Brant IX.


Editor's Comment: This launch should be visible to the naked eye
within 100 miles of White Sands. However, observers up to 400 miles
away may later see an interesting display as the sun's rays
illuminate the left over rocket exhaust in the upper atmosphere before
sunrise. The exhaust may be pretzel-shaped and have a milky white,
hazy blue, or orange color.

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                   VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
                        As of 2012 February 29

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

Unk             To be announced          Minuteman III       ---
Test launch. The Defense Department may release some details about
the launch a few days in advance. Delayed from MAR 1 due to technical
problems.  

MAR 29          To be announced          Delta IV            SLC-6
Vehicle will launch the classified NROL-25 payload for the U.S.
National Reconnaissance Office  

AUG             To be announced          Atlas V             SLC-3E
Vehicle will launch the classified NROL-36 payload for the U.S.
National Reconnaissance Office  

DEC 1           To be announced          Pegasus XL          N/A
Vehicle will be air-dropped from an L-1011 jumbo jet flying offshore.
The aircraft will be staged from Vandenberg AFB.  

2012            To be announced          Falcon 9            SLC-4E
Vehicle will launch a payload for MDA Corp. (Canada)  

2012            To be announced          Falcon Heavy        SLC-4E
Falcon Heavy demonstration flight  

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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                            CLARIFICATION

Yesterday Launch Alert published an Air Force Global Strike Command
news release about the cancellation of a Minuteman III launch from
Vandenberg AFB.

The launch in question was tentatively scheduled for Thursday, March 1
during a 02:01-08:01 PST launch window.

However, there was a Minuteman III launch from Vandenberg AFB last
Saturday morning.

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                           SECURITY POLICY

Launch Alert does not intentionally publish information that is
classified, for official use only, or unclassified but potentially
sensitive. All information comes from open sources or is approved for
public release.

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Copyright 2012, Brian Webb. All rights reserved. No portion of this
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