[Launch Alert] Vandenberg AFB Launch Schedule

[Launch Alert]

                             LAUNCH ALERT
 				  
                              Brian Webb
                      Ventura County, California
                   launch-alert-editor at earthlink.net
                         www.spacearchive.info
		       
                                    2013 July 1 (Monday) 19:13 PDT
----------------------------------------------------------------------

                   VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
                          As of 2013 July 1

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

Summer          To be announced          GBI                 ---
Missile defense system test. A Ground-based Interceptor will be
launched from Vandenberg in an attempt to intercept a target launched
from Kwajalein in the central Pacific.  

AUG 28          To be announced          Delta IV Heavy      SLC-6
Vehicle will launch the classified NROL-65 payload for the U.S.
National Reconnaissance Office  

SEP 5           09:00-11:00?             Falcon 9            SLC-4E
Vehicle will launch the Cassiope satellite for the Canadian Space
Agency  

DEC             To be announced          Atlas V             SLC-3
Vehicle will launch the classified NROL-39 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.

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

                 PEGASUS XL/IRIS LAUNCH OBSERVATIONS

On the evening of June 27, a Pegasus XL rocket was launched from a
jumbo jet flying southwest of Monterey. The editor observed the launch
aftermath and received several launch observations. The following is
a collection of selected launch observations. All observers were
located in California.


Bart De Pontieu
Carmel Heights

...it was very cool. First stage was nicely visible. We only saw the
beginning of the second stage -- the sky was too bright for the rest
of the second stage burn to be visible.


Brian Webb
Ventura County

I arrived at my viewing site well before sunset. To pass the time, I
announced my presence on a 2-meter repeater. A fellow amateur radio
operator told me that he had seen the actual launch, although not
very well, through binoculars from his vantage point on a hill in
Moorpark.

A few minutes later, a person pulled up in an unmodified 1966 U.S.
military jeep. It turned out that the driver was a Launch Alert
subscriber.

During daylight, we saw no trace at all of the launch. However, after
sunset, we spotted the exhaust trail very low in the northwest. As
it grew darker, we began to see a larger, more diffuse portion of
the exhaust in the west. It had a hint of irridesence.

About 45 minutes after sunset, both portions of the exhaust became
dimmer and dimmer. After a time, we both decided that the display
was over and we left.


Joe Conway
Rancho Santa Fe

I saw the leftover exhaust in the upper atmosphere just as it was 
getting dark from Rancho Santa Fe, CA (close to San Diego).


L. Gibson
Avila Beach

We were in Avila Beach watching for it, while listening to launch
command on our iPad.  We were looking directly into the sun, but we
could see the exhaust from ignition to stage two burn out.


Christopher Glenn
San Diego

I discounted seeing anything, due to the fact I live in San Diego. But
after the evening sky faded to a dark blue, the telltale high altitude
clouds to our due west told a different story.  We reside at 670ft
above sea level and often see over the horizon to the San Clemente
Island at sunset, not to mention the frequent Green Flash at sunset.


Bill Honaker, N9LZ
Bonita

I live in Bonita, which is south of San Diego and just on the
northeast side of Chula Vista.  

I did not expect to be able to see the launch as the western sky was
obscured by a band of high clouds. But about 8:40 PM the clouds had
cleared and the vapor trail became visible and grew brighter until
around 9:00 PM. It was a beautiful swirl of pinks and blues. It was
about 30 degrees above horizon and due west.


Ken
Santa Cruz

We saw the launch from above the town of Santa Cruz in northern cal.
Had a nice view from the summit between Santa Cruz and San Jose. Our
location was 112 miles from the launch drop location posted.


Tom Klimek
Lemon Grove

I watched the Pegasus release on the web and then waited for dusk for
a chance to view the contrail. At 2045 the ISS passed over the
contrail heading south - west.  So, I'm glad I was able to see it low
in a very smoggy sky from my location just east of San Diego. 


mahalojo
Zuma Beach

Yes I saw a light pearl colored zig zag like trail, low on the horizon
from Zuma Beach at around 7:35pm


Dan Lieb, WA9KTT
Palo Alto

I was able to see a little of the launch.  I'm located in Palo Alto,
CA. Here's a link to a google map of my approximate location:
http://goo.gl/maps/7F1U9

My son and I had the NASA TV feed going on my cell phone.  Thanks to
the press release, I had used google earth to create a vector from
the drop point to my house so I would know where to look, and it
ended up being pretty accurate. The exhaust faded fairly quickly, but
I was able to get a couple decent pictures.


Michael O'Leary
El Cajon

Not as bright as some past launches, and somewhat lower, but always
nice to watch.


Craig Phillips
Ventura

We were visiting Ventura from Riverside and drove up the 101 outside
of Ventura about 1/2 mile.  I had googleEarthed the probable
direction of the activities. Unfortunately, in that direction, the
setting sun was directly in our eyes and with a fine fog in the air
the sun was monumentally huge. We finally gave up, thinking that,
maybe, the launch did not go off as scheduled. On our return from
dinner we noticed bright white wisps high in the sky (afficianados
clue that something went off) due south of Ventura over the Channel
Islands.  Looking almost due west (up the coast) we could see the
twirls of the rocket plume just over the land horizon. Still exciting
after all these years.


Rick Rairden
Portola Valley

Windy Hill Open Space Preserve, Portola Valley CA 37.3642 N, 122.2471
W.
1840 feet elevation. Very clear weather conditions. 
Range to nominal drop point (36.000 N, 123.000 W):  165.8 km. 
Azimuth to drop point: 204 deg  (launch direction 198.66 deg)

No trace of launch aircraft seen before or after release.

1st stage burn observed,  2nd stage burn observed. 
Canon 12x36 image stabilized binoculars.
White exhaust trail, some tiny orange flame intermittently visible.