Hi All: The NOAA-17 spacecraft is scheduled for launch tomorrow from Vandenberg AFB. Here are the pariculars: Launch Date (UTC): 2002 June 24 Launch Time (UTC): 18:22 UTC. Orbital Inclination (deg.): 98.7465 Orbital Altitude (nautical miles): 450 Orbital Period (min.): 101.35 Regards, Brian Webb --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASTRONOMY/SPACE ALERT FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Brian Webb, KD6NRP Ventura County, California E-mail: kd6nrp@earthlink.net Web Site: http://home.earthlink.net/~kd6nrp 2002 June 23 (Sunday) 08:45 PDT ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MONDAY MISSILE LAUNCH A Titan II missile carrying an environmental satellite is scheduled for launch from Vandenberg AFB tomorrow morning, June 24th. The vehicle is scheduled to lift off from Space Launch Complex 4-West at 11:22 PDT, the start of a 10-minute launch window. The Titan will climb steeply at first, and then begin to gradually turn southward. If all goes according to plan, the NOAA-17 spacecraft will be inserted into a polar orbit. Unlike most other Vandenberg launches, observing or photographing tomorrow's events will probably be difficult. This is the result of a number of factors: * The launch will occur during daylight. * The exhaust from the Titan II's engines is transparent and smoke- free. Solid fuel produces a tremendous amount of light and smoke when it burns, but the Titan II is completely liquid-fueled. * Coastal low clouds and fog will probably be present at launch time. Many people would assume that, because of the vehicle's transparent and smoke-free exhaust, the best viewing location would be as close as possible to the pad (south Vandenberg). However, they're failing to take the weather into account. My strategy would be to get as close to the pad as possible, while staying above 3,000 feet, the top of the coastal cloud layer. In my opinion the best viewing location would be Santa Ynez Peak in the mountains above Refugio State Beach. Directions to Santa Ynez Peak are posted on the above web site on the page titled "Viewing Vandenberg AFB Missile Launches". Assuming you find a suitable location, what will you see? If the lighting is right, the sunlight glinting off of the vehicle's unpainted skin will allow you to see the vehicle with the unaided eye. The most visible phase of the launch will occur when the Titan II creates a vapor trail as it passes through the area between 35,000 and 45,000 feet. Shortly thereafter, there will be a reddish-brown puff at stage 1 and stage 2 separation. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- COUNTDOWN STATUS The best source of countdown status for tomorrow's launch will probably be: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/titan/g14/status.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- LAUNCH NEWS STORY A story about Monday's launch is tentatively scheduled for broadcast tomorrow on KCLU-FM at approximately 06:32, 07:32, and 08:32 PDT. KCLU transmits on 88.3 and 102.3 MHz in Ventura County and Santa Barbara, respectively. It can also be heard via the Internet at www.kclu.org. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The following is a news release from Lockheed-Martin about the NOAA-17 launch. Note that the spacecraft is referred to as NOAA-M. Once it reaches orbit it will be designated NOAA-17 NATION'S NEWEST ADVANCED WEATHER SATELLITE READIED FOR LAUNCH SUNNYVALE, Calif., June 17, 2002 - The NOAA-M spacecraft, a polar- orbiting operational earth observation satellite, is being prepared for launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. on June 24, 2002. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company in Sunnyvale built NOAA-M, and a Titan II space launch vehicle, provided under contract to the U.S. Air Force by Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver, will carry the satellite into orbit. NOAA-M is the latest in the Advanced TIROS-N (ATN) satellite series. All have been designed and built for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) by Lockheed Martin companies since the first Television and Infrared Observational Satellite (TIROS) weather satellite launch in April 1960. Most of the spacecraft in the series have operated far longer than originally expected, earning them a reputation as the workhorse of the civil space Earth-imaging inventory. "This team has been totally dedicated to providing NASA and NOAA with satellites to extend NOAA’s ability to forecast the weather," says Al Lauer, director of Low Earth Orbit Meteorological Programs for Space Systems-Sunnyvale. "NOAA-M will be the third Polar Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) spacecraft launched in the fifth decade of this program. Our long-standing partnership with our NASA and NOAA customers is a source of genuine pride for Lockheed Martin." A constellation consists of two POES satellites circling the planet in nearly north-south orbits. As the Earth rotates, the entire globe, one swath at a time rolls into view of the satellite's instruments. The instruments are continually sensing the entire depth of the atmosphere and report on the following weather generating factors: Atmosphere Temperatures and Moisture Soundings Sea-surface Temperatures Land-surface Temperatures Cloud Cover and Heights Precipitable Moisture Total Ozone Clear Radiance Incoming and Radiated Heat Together these data comprise irreplaceable inputs to the numerical weather forecast model and are vital to medium and long-range forecasting. Separately or in combination, the data are utilized to produce sea-surface temperature maps, ice condition charts, snow cover analysis, vegetation maps and other forecasting and management tools. Additionally, NOAA-M carries an enhanced complement of microwave instruments for the generation of temperature, moisture, surface, and hydrological products in cloudy regions where visible and infrared instruments have decreased capability. NOAA-M also carries search and rescue instruments that are used internationally for locating ships, aircraft, and people in distress. The use of satellites in search and rescue has been instrumental in saving more than 13,000 lives since the inception of the Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking (SARSAT) system. The NOAA-M satellite will operate in a circular, near-polar orbit of 450 nautical miles above the Earth with an inclination angle of 98.7465 degrees to the equator. Its orbital period, which is the time it takes to complete one orbit of the Earth, will be approximately 101.35 minutes. The NOAA-M orbit is Sun-synchronous, rotating eastward about the Earth’s polar axis 0.986 degrees each day, approximately the same rate and direction as the Earth’s average daily rotation about the Sun. The rotation keeps the satellite in a constant position with reference to the Sun for constant scene illumination throughout the year. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, in Greenbelt, Md., is responsible for the procurement, development, launch services, and verification testing of the spacecraft, instruments, and unique ground equipment. Following deployment of the spacecraft from the launch vehicle, Goddard is responsible for the mission operation phase leading to injection of the satellite into orbit and initial in-orbit satellite checkout and evaluation. Following the launch and a comprehensive on-orbit verification period that lasts 45 days, NASA will turn operational control of the satellites over to NOAA. NOAA will operate the satellites from the Satellite Operations Control Center in Suitland, Md., along with the nation’s other environmental satellites that it operates. NOAA’s environmental satellite system is composed of two types of satellites: Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) for national, regional, short-range warning and “now-casting”; and Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) for global, long- term forecasting and environmental monitoring. Both GOES and POES are necessary for providing a complete global weather monitoring system. Both also carry search and rescue instruments to relay signals from people in distress. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company is one of the major operating units of Lockheed Martin Corporation. Space Systems designs, develops, tests, manufactures, and operates a variety of advanced technology systems for military, civil and commercial customers. Chief products include a full-range of space launch systems, including heavy-lift capability, ground systems, remote sensing and communications satellites for commercial and government customers, advanced space observatories and interplanetary spacecraft, fleet ballistic missiles and missile defense systems. ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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/sat/seesat/seesatindex.html
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