LAUNCH ALERT<br /> <br /> Brian Webb<br /> Ventura County, California<br /> E-mail: kd6nrp@earthlink.net<br /> Web Site: http://www.spacearchive.info<br /><br /> 2004 March 20 (Saturday) 07:00 PST<br />----------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br /> VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE<br /> As of 2003 March 20<br /><br /> Launch<br /> Time/Window<br /> Date (PST/PDT) Vehicle Pad/Silo<br />-------- ----------- ---------- --------<br /><br />MAR Unannounced Minuteman III LF-09<br />ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is one or more unarmed<br />warheads (probably Mk-12). Impact area is in the Reagan Test Site at<br />Kwajalein in the central Pacific. Glory Trip 184GM<br /><br />APR 9? 09:39-10:02? Taurus SLC-576E<br />Payload is Taiwan's ROCSAT-2 satellite. The launch window is an<br />educated guess by the editor. <br /><br />APR 17 10:09:12 Delta II SLC-2W<br />Payload is NASA's Gravity Probe B satellite. In the event of a<br />postponement, launch time occurs 4 minutes earlier each day <br /><br />JUN Unannounced Minuteman III LF-10<br />ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is one or more unarmed<br />warheads (probably Mk-12). Impact area is in the Reagan Test Site at<br />Kwajalein in the central Pacific. Glory Trip 185GM <br /><br />JUN 17 03:01:48 Delta II SLC-2W<br />Payload is NASA's AURA scientific satellite <br /><br />JUL Unannounced Peacekeeper LF-02<br />ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is unarmed warheads (probably<br />Mk-21). Impact area is in the Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein in the<br />central Pacific. Glory Trip 33PA? <br /><br />AUG-SEP 10:00-13:00 Falcon I SLC-3W<br />Payload is the Naval Research Laboratory's TacSat-1 satellite. The<br />launch window is fixed and does not change if the launch date changes. <br /><br />SEP Unannounced Minuteman III LF-04<br />ICBM test launch (non-orbital). Payload is one or more unarmed<br />warheads (probably Mk-12). Impact area is in the Reagan Test Site at<br />Kwajalein in the central Pacific. Glory Trip 185GM? <br /><br />Mid-SEP ~03:00? Delta II SLC-2W<br />Payload is NOAA's NOAA N environmental satellite <br /><br />----------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br /> VANDENBERG PAYLOAD REVEALS BENEFITS OF SANTA ANAS<br /> Jet Propulsion Laboratory News Release<br /><br /> (Editor's Note: QuikScat was launched from Vandenberg AFB in 1999)<br /><br />Southern California's legendary Santa Ana winds wreak havoc every<br />year, creating hot, dry conditions and fire hazards. Despite their<br />often-destructive nature, a study of the "Devil Winds," conducted<br />using data from NASA's Quick Scatterometer (Quikscat) spacecraft and<br />its SeaWinds instrument shows the winds have some positive benefits. <br />"These strong winds, which blow from the land out into the ocean,<br />cause cold water to rise from the bottom of the ocean to the top,<br />bringing with it many nutrients that ultimately benefit local<br />fisheries," said Dr. Timothy Liu, a senior research scientist at<br />NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and Quikscat<br />project scientist. Santa Ana consequences include vortices of cold<br />water and high concentrations of chlorophyll 400 to 1,000 kilometers<br />(248 to 621 miles) offshore. <br /><br />Liu and Dr. Hua Hu of the California Institute of Technology,<br />Pasadena, in a paper published last year in Geophysical Research<br />Letters, revealed satellite observations of the Santa Ana effects on<br />the ocean during three windy days in February 2003. According to the<br />findings, Quikscat was able to identify the fine features of the<br />coastal Santa Ana wind jets. It identified location, strength and<br />extent, which other weather prediction products lack the resolution<br />to consistently show, and which moored ocean buoys lack sufficient<br />coverage to fully represent. <br /><br />Quikscat's high-resolution images of air-sea interaction were used to<br />measure wind forces on the ocean. Other satellites and instruments,<br />like the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) and the<br />Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer, onboard a National Oceanic<br />and Atmospheric Administration polar orbiting weather satellite, were<br />used to measure the temperature and biological production of the<br />ocean surface, which respond to the wind. <br /><br />The latter instrument showed sea surface temperatures dropped four<br />degrees Celsius (seven degrees Fahrenheit) during the February 2003<br />Santa Anas. That was a sign that upwelling had occurred, meaning,<br />deep cold water moved up to the ocean surface bringing nutrients.<br />Images from SeaWiFS confirmed the increased biological productivity<br />by measuring chlorophyll concentrations in the surface water. It went<br />from negligible, in the absence of winds, to very active biological<br />activity (more than 1.5 milligrams per cubic meter) in the presence of<br />the winds. <br /><br />"There really is no other system that can monitor Santa Ana winds<br />over the entire oceanic region," Liu said. "Scatterometers such as<br />Quikscat have a large enough field of view and high enough resolution<br />to easily identify the details of coastal winds, which can affect the<br />transportation, ecology and economy of Southern California." <br /><br />High pressure develops inland when cold air is trapped over the<br />mountains, driving the dry, hot and dusty Santa Anas (also called<br />Santanas and Devil's Breath) at high speeds toward the coast. The<br />winds, occurring in fall, winter and spring, can reach 113 kilometers<br />(70 miles) per hour. They happen at any time of day and usually reach<br />peak strength in December. Telltale signs on the coast include good<br />visibility inland, unusually low humidity and an approaching dark<br />brown dust cloud. <br /><br />The Quikscat satellite, launched in June 1999, operates in a<br />Sun-synchronous, 800-kilometer (497-mile) near-polar orbit. It circles<br />Earth every 100 minutes and takes approximately 400,000 daily<br />measurements over 93 percent of the planet's surface. It passes over<br />Southern California about twice a day, skipping a day every three or<br />four days. <br /><br />Quikscat is part of an integrated Earth observation system managed by<br />NASA's Office of Earth Science. The NASA enterprise is dedicated to<br />understanding the Earth as an integrated system and applying Earth<br />System Science to improve prediction of climate, weather, and natural<br />hazards using the unique vantage point of space. <br /><br />----------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br /> "FAB FIVE" MAKE RARE APPEARANCE IN NIGHT SKY<br /> Jet Propulsion Laboratory News Release<br /><br />Like a busy urban family, planets rarely get together all at once.<br />Later this month, however, the five so-called naked-eye planets -<br />Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn - will reunite in the night<br />sky, giving spectators a unique chance to see Earth's closest<br />companions in one easy sitting.The gathering will be visible every<br />night for an hour after sunset, beginning around March 22 and lasting<br />about two weeks. While other opportunities to catch a five-planet<br />rendezvous will take place in the next few years, both at dawn and<br />dusk, this one is not to be missed.<br /><br />"This particular planetary grouping will quite possibly offer the best<br />nighttime views until 2036," says Dr. Myles Standish, an astronomer at<br />NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.<br /><br />For early risers, there will be another chance to see all five<br />naked-eye planets together just before sunrise in December of this<br />year and early January 2005.<br /><br />Since ancient times, the naked-eye planets have intrigued and inspired<br />onlookers all over the world. But only sporadically, usually every few<br />years or so, do their orbits take them to the same side of the Sun.<br />When this happens, the planets stretch across the morning or evening<br />skies depending on which side of the Sun they reside. More rare are<br />planetary alignments in which the five planets assemble in a very<br />small corner of the sky.<br /><br />"Every so often the five visible planets will collect on one side of<br />the Sun," says Standish. "Only when conditions are right, will they<br />all be clearly visible at either dusk or dawn."<br /><br />The Details<br /><br />To catch the planetary get-together, you'll need a good view of the<br />sky, free of buildings and bright city lights (you should still be<br />able to see the planets through urban light pollution). The show<br />begins around March 22 and lasts through early April, when Mercury<br />fades from sight. The finest views will take place during the last 8<br />to 10 days of March.<br /><br />Begin by looking to the western horizon each evening just after<br />sunset. Seated in a row up and across the sky will be Mercury, Venus,<br />Mars and Saturn. Saturn will lie almost directly overhead. Following<br />the line of the planets, Jupiter will be close to the eastern horizon.<br />Together, the planets will span about 135 degrees. About an hour after<br />dusk, Mercury will dip below the western horizon.<br /><br />The Moon will also be attending the festivities, mingling through the<br />planets in an orderly fashion. On March 22, it will take a seat next<br />to Mercury, and then climbing up the night sky, it will end its tour<br />on April 1 right above mighty Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar<br />system. As the Moon slides from planet to planet, it will grow in size<br />from a slender crescent to a nearly full circle of white.<br /><br />Note that Venus is currently brighter than usual because of where it<br />lies in relation to Earth and the Sun.<br /><br />The Moon and planets will appear to follow nearly the same path<br />through the stars. This is because their orbits around the Sun occupy<br />planes that are close to that of Earth's orbit. The plane Earth moves<br />in is called the ecliptic.<br /><br />If for some reason you miss the "Fab Five," another set of orbiting<br />bodies will soon make a grand debut. In April and May of this year,<br />two naked-eye comets, C/2001 Q4 and C/2002 T7, will grace the twilight<br />skies. To spot the cosmic balls of dust and ice look to the west at<br />dusk or dawn. A pair of binoculars will help to initially locate the<br />comets because they may be slightly washed out by the Sun. On May 12<br />to 16 look out for a mini-reunion with the naked-eye planets, when<br />comet C/2001 Q4 lines up with Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter.