Posted on 01/30/2003 8:24:46 AM PST by WSGilcrest
ASTRONOMY/SPACE ALERT FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Brian Webb, KD6NRP Ventura County, California E-mail: kd6nrp@earthlink.net Web Site: http://home.earthlink.net/~kd6nrp
2003 January 19 (Sunday) 16:35 PST ----------------------------------------------------------------------
SHUTTLE REENTRY VISIBLE
Launch Alert reader Rick Baldridge recently passed the word that part of the upcoming reentry of Space Shuttle Columbia will occur over northern California before dawn on February 1st.
According to Rick "The shuttle will be re-entering the Earth's atmosphere over the North Bay Area at 4:48am (22 minutes before landing) which is well before the start of astronomical twilight, yielding a spectacular sight to all of central and northern California, Nevada and points east almost to the Mississippi River basin where sunlight will begin to interfere.
Many PAS [Penninsula Astronomical Society] members have seen these re-entries before, and they make a fabulous sight -- easily video taped and/or photographed."
Since the Shuttle will be at a very high altitude when it passes over northern California, the reentry may be visible for hundreds of miles either side of the ground track. This could provide a rare spectacle for the southern part of California.
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CORIOLIS LAUNCH
A Titan II booster carrying the Coriolis satellite finally lifted-off from Vandenberg AFB earlier this month. You may recall the launch had been cancelled several times. Launch occurred on Monday, January 6th at 06:19 PST. I observed and photographed the launch from a location some 100 miles east-southeast of the launch pad.
Because this was a morning twilight launch, I was hoping for a good visual display from sunlight reflected by the Titan's exhaust plume. The so-called Twilight Effect did occur, but it was very weak. However, the launch was still rather interesting.
On launch day, I carried my photo gear up a hill at the end of my street at about T-30 minutes. The Santa Ana winds were blowing strongly and I was literally being sand blasted as I waited for launch.
Launch appeared to occur one minute late. The Titan II suddenly popped up over a distant hilltop orchard - exactly where I thought it would. The vehicle looked like a not-so-bright white spot.
Through my 135mm (2.6 power) telephoto lens I could see a faint, thin flame begin to emerge behind the spot. Several seconds later, the spot brightened momentarily and a few bright sparks fell away. A telltale smoke puff appeared confirming I had just seen stage 1/2 separation.
Through the telephoto I could see several white specks moving together. The second stage on the left. On the right was the spent first stage. It was the brightest of the objects and was slowly brightening and fading every five seconds as it tumbled. In between the two stages was missile debris. The objects didn't look like stars; they resembled "sparkles".
I've seen several launches over the years. This wasn't the most impressive, but it was interesting.
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ADMINISTRIVIA
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VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE As of 2002 January 19
Launch Window Date PST/PDT Vehicle
MAR 00:01-06:01 Peacekeeper ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is two unarmed warheads. Impact area is near Kwajalein in the central Pacific. GT-32PA
APR 30 Unknown Pegasus XL Payload is OrbView 3 commercial reconnaissance satellite. Pegasus will be air-launched from an L-1011 staged from Vandenberg AFB
MAY ~08:00 Titan II Payload is a DMSP military weather satellite
MAY 20 Unknown Pegasus XL Payload is SciSat 1 ozone monitoring satellite. Pegasus will be air-launched from an L-1011 staged from Vandenberg AFB
JUN 01:01-07:01 Minuteman III ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is at least one unarmed warhead. Impact area is near Kwajalein in the central Pacific. GT-182GM
JUN 23 Unknown Atlas IIas Payload is a classified National Reconnaissance Office satellite(s)
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Saturday Breezy. Mostly cloudy. Chance of rain. Highs in the mid to upper 50s.
Although, you should be able to see it for 200-300 miles either side of the track through California right around sunrise twilight.
I don't guarantee my times here. You should check them yourself.
This is a tragedy but this thread (and the live thread as the Columbia crew made their final voyage) indicates that there are those in America (and on FR) who do follow our space program and still take interest and enjoyment in the efforts of those carry out the missions.
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