[Launch Alert] Launch Update

[Launch Alert]

Although the weather forecast does not look promising, tonight's Atlas V launch from Vandenberg AFB appears to be on schedule for 11:13 p.m. PST.

In addition to seeing the launch, Ventura County and Malibu residents may hear a sonic boom several minutes after liftoff. This happened following the 2011 April 14 Atlas V night launch from Vandenberg. As an experiment, I may place a pro-quality microphone near an open window and use my audio software to start an all-night recording before I turn in. 

Here is updated info from Vandenberg AFB regarding the satellite feed for the launch:

ALL TIMES PACIFIC STANDARD TIME

LAUNCH – THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

BARS AND TONE – 10:15 P.M.

PROGRAM START – 10:53 P.M.

Transmission FOR digital HIGH definiton

SATELLITE: AMC-1

TRANSPONDER: C24

BAND: C-Band HD

ORBITAL POSITION: 103 degrees west

HD BANDWIDTH: 18 MHz

DOWNLINK FREQ: 4171 MHz (Horizontal Vertical)

SYMBOL RATE: 13

FEC: ¾

DATA RATE: 17.9705

DVBS-QPSK

MPEG-2

AUDIO EMBEDDED