[Launch Alert] Atlas V Launched

Wed Mar 1 22:08:38 EST 2017

                             LAUNCH ALERT

                              Brian Webb
                     Ventura County, California
                  launch-alert-editor at earthlink.net
                        www.spacearchive.info

                                2017 March 1 (Wednesday) 17:16 PST
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The following is an Air Force Space and Missile Center news release:

            AIR FORCE, MISSION PARTNERS LAUNCH NRO PAYLOAD

LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE - EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The U.S. Air Force
and its mission partners successfully launched a United Launch
Alliance Atlas V vehicle carrying a National Reconnaissance Office
(NRO) national security payload from Vandenberg Air Force Base,
California, today at 9:49 a.m. PST.

"This launch is a testament to the teamwork between the Air Force and
its mission partners," said Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, Space and Missile
Systems Center commander and Air Force program executive officer for
Space. "Congratulations to the NROL-79 integrated team of government
and industry partners for a successful launch."

The Air Force Space Command's Space and Missile Systems Center,
located at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the U.S. Air
Force's center of excellence for acquiring and developing military
space systems.  Its portfolio includes space launch, global
positioning, military space vehicle communications, defense
meteorological space vehicles, range systems, space vehicle control
networks, space-based infrared systems, and space situational
awareness capabilities.

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                    ATLAS V / NROL-79 LAUNCH OBSERVATIONS

I received several observations of today's Atlas V rocket launch from
Vandenberg AFB. The following is a digest of these reports along with
my account:

Brian Webb
Ventura County

I observed the launch from a high hill approximately 100 statute
miles east-southeast of the launch site. My equipment consisted of
tripod- mounted Nikon 10x50 binoculars.

I arrived at my viewing site about 20 minutes before liftoff and set
up my tripod and binoculars. I used a printed copy of a time exposure
of a night Delta II launch taken from the same location to estimate
where the Atlas V would emerge from behind South Mountain, a peak
several miles away. Using that information, I aimed my binoculars.

At 09:49:51 PST, the exact launch time, I began moving my binoculars
a few degrees to the left and right of my aim point.

After a long delay, a circular orange blob suddenly appeared from
behind South Mountain. It was the flame from the Atlas first stage.
As the rocket gained altitude, the flame become increasingly
elongated and detail became visible within the flame. I quickly
looked over my binoculars to see if the flame was visible to the
unaided eye. It wasn't.

As expected, the rocket briefly produced a thick white contrail. The
actual rocket was visible, but just barely. The issue wasn't my
distance from the Atlas, it was the vehicle's white paint which made
it blend in with the sky background.

The vehicle continued to gain altitude and the flame gradually became
colorless and wedge shaped. I followed the rocket until just after
stage 1/2 separation when I lost sight of it.

The only aspect of the launch I could see with the naked eye was the
white contrail low on the horizon. If it wasn't for my use of
binoculars, I wouldn't have seen the flame or the actual rocket.

I planned to stay at my viewing site for several minutes after stage
1/2 separation in an attempt to hear a distant rumble or sonic boom
from the launch. However, there was so much noise from the wind
and nearby freeway, I decided to leave early.

Eamonn K.
Long Beach, CA

"Contrail visible from Long Beach Airport."

Denis L.
Signal Peak, CA

FROM 952 feet elev : near SIGNAL PEAK ON NEWPORT COAST , CA

"Clear skies but Atlas contrail was barely visible for a few seconds
once rocket vertically cleared Santa Monica mtn range and after normal
course changes down range direction.

Became virtually invisible after that. No stage separation visible ."

C.D.
Laguna Hills, CA

I was able to observe the contrail from today's Atlas V launch from my
home in Laguna Hills, CA. I'm around 800' from the intersection of
Aliso Hills and Alameda, approximately 158 NM from Vandenberg. I was
able to see the rise of the contrail just after launch from an
upstairs window (through the glass) at an altitude around 450' ASL. I
could vaguely see the contrail through the haze with the naked eye,
and observed it much better using binoculars (medium-quality Simmons
10x50 wide angle). I could see it rise to the southwest, to an
altitude of perhaps 25-30,000'. I was able to detect some 'cotton
ball' effect around the mid-point of the portion of contrail visible
to me. It appeared to dissipate from my view rather quickly, and I
lost any discernable view by around 1056hrs. I was unable to detect
the vehicle itself, any flame cone or stage separation detail.

Harris G.
Mission Viejo, CA

"FWIW-

White contrail from launch was visible from Mission Viejo, CA. 
Contrail appeared about 1 minute after launch about 5-degrees above
the horizon (from an elevated viewing location). Contrail appeared
thin, white, and fairly-vertical (travelling slightly south as it
ascended) and demonstrated a shape/pattern typical for a rocket launch
from that location. Final contrail appeared about 10-degrees in height
and was visible for about 65-seconds in total before it was obscured
by fog/clouds."

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                   VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE

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

TBD             To be announced          Falcon 9            SLC-4E
Vehicle will launch Taiwan's Formosat 5 satellite and the Sherpa
dispenser carrying several small payloads  

NET MAY         To be announced          Minotaur C          SLC-576E
Vehicle will launch six SkySat earth observation satellites  

JUN             To be announced          Falcon 9            SLC-4E
Vehicle will launch Iridium Next commercial communications satellites
11-20  

JUN 13          To be announced          Atlas V             SLC-3E
Vehicle will launch the classified NROL-42 payload for the U.S.
National Reconnaissance Office  

AUG             To be announced          Falcon 9            SLC-4E
Vehicle will launch Iridium Next commercial communications satellites
21-30  

SEP 23          To be announced          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.

NET: No earlier than

TBD: To be determined

PDT: Pacific Daylight Time

PST: Pacific Standard Time

SLC: Space Launch Complex

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