[Launch Alert] Vandenberg AFB Launch Schedule
Launch Alert
launch-alert at mailman.qth.net
Sat Jul 13 23:42:20 EDT 2019
LAUNCH ALERT
Brian Webb
launch-alert-editor at earthlink.net
www.spacearchive.info
2019 July 14 (Saturday) 20:35 PDT
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VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE
All launch dates and times are subject to change.
Launch
Time/Window
Date (PST/PDT) Vehicle Pad/Silo
------------------ ----------------- ------------- --------
Early 2020 Unknown Falcon 9 SLC-4E
Vehicle will launch Argentina's SAOCOM-1B earth observation 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.
PDT: Pacific Daylight Time
PST: Pacific Standard Time
SLC: Space Launch Complex
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LOOKING BACK: THE PHONE CALL
by Anonymous
With the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 approaching, I decided to share
a memory related to that mission.*
In the summer of 1970, I was weeks away from starting high school. I
was a member of an astronomical society and discovered that a fellow
member lived just several blocks away. His name was Tom, a space and
astronomy enthusiast who was my age. We would have met sooner, but he
went to school in Manhattan Beach and I went through the Redondo Beach
school system. After we met, became fast friends and later attended
high school and college together. We have been close friends ever
since.
August 1970 was a year after the Apollo 11 mission and I spent many
days at Tom's house while his parents were away at work. Apollo 11
astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin was a hero of ours and one afternoon Tom
got the idea it would be great to talk to him.
Around 3:30 p.m., Tom called directory assistance for Houston, Texas
and asked I there was a listing for an Edwin Aldrin. As hard as it is
to believe, there was!
Tom called the number while I listened in. The phone rang and a male
voice answered. Tom then said something to the effect of "Colonel
Aldrin, this is Tom <last name> from Manhattan Beach, California. Do
you mind if I ask you a few questions?"
We could hear Buzz chewing (we had apparently called him during
dinner). He replied "Well it's your nickel." Tom proceeded to ask
him if he had seen the recent partial lunar eclipse. Aldrin replied
"Yes, it was very beautiful." Buzz was quite patient and civil
despite our interrupting his dinner.
Tom proceeded to ask Aldrin a few more questions, thanked him for his
time, and ended the call. After he hung up, Tom and I looked at each
other in disbelief at what had just happened.
Several years later, Tom's father attended a lecture given by Buzz.
After it was over, his dad approached Aldrin and apologized for the
phone call. Buzz told him it was fine and it wasn't a problem.
*Tom just shared his recollection of this event with me. His version
is a bit different. For example, he said he found Aldrin's phone
number in the telephone book collection at the Torrance public
library. Tom also didn't remember my being present for the call. In
addition, he stated Buzz didn't answer the phone, it was his daughter.
Tom also said the conversation went on much longer than I indicate -
about 10 minutes. His recollection of the details of the apology by
his father for the call are a bit different. However, his version of
events generally agrees with mine.
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The following is a news release from Virgin Orbit
VIRGIN ORBIT COMPLETE KEY DROP TEST AHEAD OF ORBITAL FLIGHT TEST
2019 July 10
Mojave, California — Virgin Orbit, Sir Richard Branson’s small
satellite launch company, announced today that it has successfully
completed a key drop test of its LauncherOne vehicle, the last major
step in the development program of the company’s novel launch service.
In the run-up to its first space shot, Virgin Orbit has completed a
steady progression of test flights with its “flying launch pad” Cosmic
Girl and LauncherOne vehicle — and today’s achievement marks the
beginning of the company’s transition to its orbital test flight
launch campaign.
On this flight, Virgin Orbit released a fully built, fully loaded —
although inert — LauncherOne rocket from Cosmic Girl, a modified
Boeing 747 that serves as the rocket’s carrier aircraft. Today’s test
flight began with a takeoff from the Mojave Air and Space Port at
Mojave, CA, at 8:43 A.M. Pacific; the drop itself occurred at 9:13
A.M. Pacific from an altitude of 35,000 feet over a testing range at
Edwards Air Force Base. The primary purpose of the test was to
monitor the few critical seconds just after release, to ensure the
rocket and aircraft separate cleanly and to observe how the rocket
freefalls through the air.
The drop test represents the last major step of a development program
that began in 2015, focused not just on designing the LauncherOne
vehicle but proving it out alongside the modified 747 that serves as
the company’s carrier aircraft.
The flight was piloted by Virgin Orbit’s Chief Test Pilot Kelly
Latimer (Lt. Col. USAF, Ret.) and Todd Ericson (Col. USAF, Ret.), both
of whom also fly for Virgin Orbit’s sister company, Virgin Galactic.
Also on board were Zack Rubin, Flight Test Director; Bryce Schaefer,
Launch Engineer; Jason Panzarino, Launch Engineer; and Kevin Sagis,
Chief Engineer.
In Virgin Orbit’s final progression to launch, it has advanced on
three parallel streams of work: First, the team needed to test
LauncherOne on the ground, proving that its engines, tanks, pumps,
software and all other elements can function together as integrated
stages. That effort culminated in full thrust, integrated hotfires of
both LauncherOne’s main and upper stages. At the same time, Virgin
Orbit needed to complete its flight test program — which has now come
to a close with today’s drop test.
Finally, the company also needed to build, assemble and test its first
orbital test flight rocket. Later this month, Virgin Orbit will
finalize that rocket’s assembly before handing it off to the company’s
operations team for a rigorous series of checks and rehearsals leading
up to its first launches to space later this year.
Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart: “Today’s test was a monumental step forward
for us. It’s the capstone to a thorough development program not just
for a rocket, but for our carrier aircraft, our ground support
equipment, and all of our flight procedures. I’m extremely proud of
the team for getting us to this point, and for their spectacular
performance today. I’ve told them to take a few hours now to celebrate
— our first launch campaign begins in the morning.”
Latimer said: “The whole flight went incredibly well. The release was
extremely smooth, and the rocket fell away nicely. There was a small
roll with the aircraft, just as we expected. Everything matched what
we’d seen in the simulators well — in fact, the release dynamics and
the aircraft handling qualities were both better than we expected.
This was the best kind of test flight sortie from a test pilot’s
perspective — an uneventful one.”
Virgin Orbit’s modified 747 aircraft enables the company to quickly
transport its entire launch site to new locations around the world,
launching each satellite from the optimal location. In addition to the
Mojave Air and Space Port — the California launch site that will be
home to the company’s first orbital launch as well as subsequent
launches to high inclination orbits — other spaceports both new and
established have announced that they are working to prepare themselves
for future missions of LauncherOne, including the Launch and Landing
Facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Spaceport Cornwall in
the United Kingdom, the Taranto-Grottaglie Airport in Italy, and
others.
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