[Launch Alert] October 8 Launch

[Launch Alert]

The next Vandenberg AFB rocket launch is an Atlas V on the morning of October 8, 2015 between 04:45 and 06:30 PDT. The vehicle is scheduled to place the classified NROL-55 payload into orbit for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. The vehicle will also carry several secondary payloads. Note that 04:45-06:30 PDT is not the actual launch window; it is a larger time frame that contains the unannounced launch window. An exact launch time should be released within a few days.

Webcasts of the launch should be available from the following web sites:

  https://spaceflightnow.com/

  http://www.ulalaunch.com/

  https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/

If the launch occurs during darkness or morning twilight, the event could be visible to the naked eye for a few hundred miles.

Because of my schedule, I will not be able to answer questions regarding this launch. For information about viewing Vandenberg AFB launches, go to:

  http://www.spacearchive.info/vafbview.htm

For information about photographing Vandenberg launches, go to:

  http://www.spacearchive.info/vafbphoto.htm