Hi: There is some confusion over the Minotaur/JAWSAT launch window and launch time. Normally launch occurs at the start of the window. This launch is different... it is planned for 10 minutes after the window opens. Refer to attached info. Regards, Brian Webb ASTRONOMY/SPACE ALERT FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Brian Webb, KD6NRP Ventura County, California E-mail: 102670.1206@compuserve.com Web Page: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/rawhide_home_page 2000 January 12 (Wednesday) 19:00 PST -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Important Notice Beginning January 15, 2000, this newsletter will be distributed using a mailing list server. If you want to receive this newsletter after the 15th, you will need to have a subscription with the list server. To subscribe, send the following e-mail message: To: majordomo@qth.net Subject: Leave blank (if your e-mail software won't send a message without a subject, enter "hi") Message Text: subscribe launch-alert -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Missile Launch Friday A Minotaur missile is scheduled for launch from Vandenberg AFB on Friday evening, January 14th. The Minotaur is scheduled to leave pad SLC-7 at 19:04 PST, head towards the southwest, and place several small satellites into a polar orbit. The launch window runs from 18:54 to 21:54 PST. If the weather is favorable, the launch should be visible for at least 200 miles. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vandenberg Launch Net If the weather is clear Friday evening, ham radio operators in southern California are planning on running a Vandenberg Launch Net to pass along Minotaur countdown status and discuss the launch. The net will be convened at 18:30 PST on the 147.000 MHz Santa Barbara repeater (131.8 Hz PL, +600 KHz offset). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (The following is an Air Force news release about the launch) SPACE & MISSILE SYSTEMS CENTER (AFMC) Office of Public Affairs Air Force Minuteman Set to be First Launch of New Millennium LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., - For the first time ever, the Air Force will use a refurbished Minuteman II rocket motor combined with Pegasus XL upper stages to launch satellites into orbit Jan 14, expected to be the world's first space launch of the millennium. The famed Minuteman II rocket, deactivated as an offensive weapon system by Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in 1991, was initially designed as an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles delivery system. Liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., is set for 7:04 p.m. PST. The Orbital Suborbital Program Space Launch Vehicle, a combination of rocket motors from the Minuteman II and Pegasus XL launch vehicles, is part of an Air Force effort to use surplus Minuteman II components for sub-orbital and orbital spacelift in support of U.S. Government requirements. This program is managed by the Space and Missile Systems Center Test and Evaluation Directorate located at Kirtland AFB, N.M. The goal of this launch is to validate the OSP Space Launch Vehicle's spacelift capability. To determine the mission's success, SMC personnel will evaluate data measuring the successful separation of the payloads and detailing whether the payloads were deployed in the correct orbit. Currently having more than 350 Minuteman II ICBMs in storage, SMC/TE is working with the vehicle contractor, Orbital Sciences Corporation, to demonstrate a reliable, economical and efficient way to put these missiles to good use. The OSP Space Launch Vehicle can operate with two fairings allowing for the launch of oversized payloads. Using a multi-payload adapter, the vehicle is capable of launching several payloads of up to 750 lbs to a 400-nautical mile, sun-synchronous orbit. This is roughly 1.5 times the Pegasus XL capability. The payloads for the upcoming launch are integrated to the Joint Air Force Academy Weber State University Satellite, or JAWSAT, multi-payload adapter. The four payloads are the U.S. Air Force Academy's FalconSat, Arizona State University's ASUSAT, Stanford University's OPAL satellite and the Air Force Research Laboratory's Optical Calibration Sphere Experiment. Also attached to the multi-payload adapter are two experiments: NASA Marshall Space Flight Center's Plasma Experiment Satellite and Weber State University's Attitude Controlled Platform. Originally set to launch Dec 7, launch officials discovered electrical problems during the mission dress rehearsal Dec 1. During this test, the C-BAND Transponder, a safety device that notifies operators on the ground that the rocket is still on its course, did not respond. Officials had also discovered at that time that the Modular Avionics Control Hardware was not functioning properly. The MACH is a modular interface box, which controls telemetry, power transfer and ordnance commands. After destacking the upper two stages, the Pegasus XL Orion 50 and Orion 38, and the fairing, the C-BAND transponder was replaced, and the cause of the MACH malfunction was corrected with software modifications. The second OSP Space Launch Vehicle launch is scheduled for the spring, carrying the Air Force Research Laboratory's MightySat II.1 payload. Spaceport Systems International is under contract to provide launch site and launch control facilities as well as range support for both launches. The launch set for Friday will be SSI's first launch. The Space and Missile Systems Center, located at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the center of technical excellence for developing and purchasing military space systems and manages more than $56 billion in contracts. The center has an annual operating budget of more than $5.5 billion and employs about 3,400 people worldwide. For more information, see SMC's web page at http://www.laafb.af.mil The 30th Space Wing, located at Vandenberg AFB, will provide Range support for the launch. Range support includes, but is not limited to ensuring safe, reliable and timely launch operations in support of DoD and commercial launch operations, providing a full range of valuable weather services and control and operation of the Western Range for all spacelift and ballistic launches. For more information about the payloads, visit the JAWSAT website at: http://cast.weber.edu/jawsat/jawsat.html TRW, the OSP Space Launch Vehicle systems engineering and technical assistance contractor for Space and Missile Systems Center, will be providing a live web- cast and satellite feed of the launch. SATELLITE TV INFO: Jan 14th, 5 to 11 p.m. EST / 2 to 8 p.m. PST Telstar 6C /11 Uplink Frequency: 6145 Downlink Frequency: 3920 / Vertical Arc Position: 93 Degrees West Those interested in viewing the webcast must first visit this site to register and receive a password: http://www.webcastingtv.com/jawsat/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Minotaur Launch Technical Data Launch Window Opens: 2000 JAN 14 18:54:20 PST (JAN 15 02:54:20 UTC) Launch Window Closes: 2000 JAN 14 21:54 PST (JAN 15 05:54 UTC) Launch Time: 19:04 PST (03:04 UTC) Launch Pad: SSI launch facilty (referred to as "SLC-7"), south Vandenberg AFB Launch Pad Coordinates: Latitude 34 deg. 34 min. north Longitude 120 deg. 38 min. west Launch Azimuth: 220.0 deg. ------------------------------------- END -------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe from SeeSat-L by sending a message with 'unsubscribe' in the SUBJECT to SeeSat-L-request@lists.satellite.eu.org http://www2.satellite.eu.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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