[Launch Alert] Vandenberg AFB Launch Schedule
Launch Alert
launch-alert at mailman.qth.net
Wed Aug 3 00:14:51 EDT 2016
LAUNCH ALERT
Brian Webb
Ventura County, California
launch-alert-editor at earthlink.net
www.spacearchive.info
2016 August 2 (Tuesday) 19:42 PDT
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VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
Launch
Time/Window
Date (PST/PDT) Vehicle Pad/Silo
-------- ----------------- ------------- --------
SEP 15 11:30-11:44 Atlas V SLC-3E
Vehicle will launch the WorldView 4 earth observation satellite for
DigitalGlobe
SEP 19 21:49 Falcon 9 SLC-4E
Vehicle will launch 10 Iridium Next commercial communications
satellites. This evening launch could be impressive
OCT To be announced Minotaur C SLC-576E
Vehicle will launch six SkySat earth observation satellites
OCT-DEC To be announced Falcon 9 SLC-4E
Vehicle will launch Taiwan's Formosat 5 satellite and the Sherpa
dispenser carrying several small payloads
DEC 1 To be announced Atlas V SLC-3E
Vehicle will launch the classified NROL-79 payload for the U.S.
National Reconnaissance Office
DEC To be announced Falcon 9 SLC-4E
Vehicle will launch 10 Iridium Next commercial communications
satellites
JAN 20 01:47 Delta II SLC-2W
Vehicle will launch the JPSS-1 weather satellite
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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REENTRY OBSERVED
Late last week I received e-mails from two Launch Alert readers in
California who saw something interesting in the sky. The following are
their initial reports and follow-up comments:
John G.
Malibu
"Saw a very big, huge shooting star/asteroid/satelite streak across
the southern california sky from southwest to northeast. Airborn for
a full minute. 9:38 pm on July 27, 2016. Any idea what it was???"
"We are in the hills of Malibu and a at 9:38 pm on July 27 halfway up
from the horizon in the south west sky we saw what looked like a
large asteroid with a long tail on a very shallow trajectory. It
continued to streak across the sky at a very shallow trajectory as it
moved northeast with no diminishment. As it moved across the sky the
fir ball broke into two parts and the tail became longer and more
widespread. It was still illuminated when it went behind a mountain
range and we lost sight of it. It was pretty spectacular."
Michael H.
Nipomo Mesa
"I happened to walk outside and saw a large white fireball with a
spectacular streaming tail almost directly overhead at first I mistook
it for a large meteor but it was moving too slowly and persisted too
long. My second scary thought was a balistic missile from North Korea
or other space weapon. About 30 seconds or more into the transit it
broke into two distinct objects. As it headed toward the horizon it
turned a beautiful red and vanished from site, crisis averted.
When I told my friend about it, who lives in Arroyo Grande, he said he
heard a rumble and wondered if there was a launch that night. I did
not hear anything but I was too excited and could have been drowned
out by my shouts of astonishment.
It was a frightening yet beautiful experience, I consider myself lucky
to have witnessed it. I religiously watch and photograph every VAFB
launch and this was by far the most spectacular space event I have
ever witnessed. The Delta IV heavy launch would be a distant second.
The conspiracy theorist in me thought it was uncanny and an extreme
coincidence how this thing came in right at the West Coast of
California. Could China be testing a planned re-entry for space weapon
development? It's fun and scary to think... maybe."
The following news item appears to explain what these readers saw:
JOINT SPACE OPERATIONS CENTER TRACKS REENTRY OVER CALIFORNIA
JFCC SPACE Public Affairs, Joint Functional Component Command for
Space
2016 July 28
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- U.S. Strategic Command's Joint
Functional Component Command for Space (JFCC Space), through the Joint
Space Operations Center (JSpOC), removed a Chinese CZ-7 rocket body
from the U.S. satellite catalog as a decayed object after it reentered
the atmosphere July 27, 2016, over North America (vicinity California)
at approximately 9:36 p.m. PDT (12:36 p.m. EDT).
In addition to this object, which was initially launched on June 25,
2016, the JSpOC tracks more than 16,000 other on-orbit cataloged
objects, which are listed in USSTRATCOM's Satellite Catalog and the
publicly-available website www.Space-Track.org. That service is a key
element of our commitment to provide space situational awareness for
spaceflight safety. The effects of the atmosphere on reentering
objects preclude the JSpOC from accurately tracking any reentries
after initial contact with the atmosphere occurs.
"Our mission, which we remain focused on, is to monitor space and the
tens of thousands of pieces of debris that congest it, while at the
same time working with our government, international and industry
partners to increase space situational awareness and ensure
spaceflight safety," said Col. Michael Manor, 614th Air Operations
Center Commander and JSpOC Director. "There are many factors acting
on an object as it decays and reenters the atmosphere, such as how it
tumbles and breaks up, variations in the gravitational field of a
landmass or ocean, solar radiation pressure, and atmospheric drag, that
limit us from predicting what happens after the interface altitude."
The JSpOC used the Space Surveillance Network sensors and their
orbital analysis system to confirm the CZ-7 reentry, and to refine its
prediction and ultimately provide more fidelity as the reentry time
approached. The JSpOC does not predict or track what happens after the
spacecraft decays below the interface altitude, such as where on the
Earth's surface debris, if any, lands.
Additional questions about the rocket body should be directed to
Chinese authorities, particularly the Chinese National Space
Administration.
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sensitive, or inside information. All information comes from open
sources or is approved for public release.
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