Another Vandenburg Launch tonite

[JustMVG]

heres the info they sent me might be a little late for some but here goes anyway
MINUTEMAN III LAUNCH
Vandenberg AFB News Release
2006 July 17
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – An unarmed Minuteman III
intercontinental ballistic missile is scheduled to launch from North
Vandenberg Wednesday morning as an operational test to demonstrate the
weapon system’s reliability and accuracy. The six-hour launch window
is from 1:01 to 7:01 a.m. PDT.
The missile will launch under the direction of the 576th Flight Test
Squadron here.
Col. John Raymond, 30th Operations Group commander, is the spacelift
commander or final "go-for-launch" authority.
Members of the 576th FLTS here installed tracking, telemetry and
command destruct systems on the missile to collect data and meet
safety requirements.
The missile's three unarmed re-entry vehicles are expected to travel
approximately 4,200 miles, hitting a pre-determined water target in
the Marshall Islands.
This joint operation combines Air Force and Army range tracking and
weather surveillance.
The entire ICBM community, including the Department of Defense and the
Department of Energy will use the data collected from this mission.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
MINUTEMAN LAUNCH VIEWING
Wednesday morning's Minuteman III launch occurs two days after last
quarter Moon. If the launch happens at the start of the window, the
thick crescent Moon will be rising or just above the horizon for
observers near the California coast. If the Moon is above the horizon,
the additional light will hamper launch visibility somewhat for
observers in outlying areas.
The missile's first stage burn, the brightest portion of the launch,
should be visible to the naked eye at least as far away as Monterey,
Fresno, and Long Beach.
The fainter second and third stage burns should be visible over a
much wider area provided you use a dark observing site and binoculars
or other optical assistance.
If you have an astronomical telescope, you will probably get an even
better view. Common amateur telescopes work very well for viewing
launches and often reveal phenomena and events totally invisible to
the naked eye.
For information about launch viewing and photography, refer to the
following web pages:
www.spacearchive.info/vafbview.htm
www.spacearchive.info/vafbphoto.htm
Since Wednesday's launch is a military weapon system test, there will
be no publicly available countdown status.

[RitcheyRch]

Interesting. Have not heard anything on the news about this.

[Rod-64]

Since Wednesday's launch is a military weapon system test, there will
be no publicly available countdown status................
That's the bad part............if it's clear, we can see tham go off from here....the sunset ones are the coolest. Saw a perfect trail last September heading down I-40 towards Havasu.

[JustMVG]

LAUNCH DELAYED
This morning's Minuteman III launch from Vandenberg AFB was postponed
24 hours. It is now slated for Thursday morning during a 01:01 to
07:01 PDT launch window.
The Air Force will try to launch the Minutemann at the very start of
the window. However, unexpected technical and other issues can cause
liftoff to occur at any time between 01:01 and 07:01.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
MINUTEMAN III LAUNCH DELAY
Vandenberg AFB News Release
2006 July 18
Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. – The scheduled launch of an unarmed
Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile is delayed due to
complications with air traffic control radars in the Southwest region
of the United States. The launch is delayed 24 hours and rescheduled
between 1:01 a.m. to 7:01 a.m. Thursday.
The mission was to demonstrate the operational effectiveness of the
weapon system

[RitcheyRch]

Thanks for the info.

[ColeTR2]

The mission was to demonstrate the operational effectiveness of the weapon system
I also wonder if this test was to remind North Korea that the US can turn there country into glass.

[JustMVG]

Couldn't hurt as a reminder or "Motivational Tool"

[dossangers]

I also wonder if this test was to remind North Korea that the US can turn there country into glass.Thats exactly whats going on !!

[BajaMike]

Anyone know if this launch went off??
:idea:

[JustMVG]

I could tell you but then i would have to kill you, secrecy and all :D :D

[e8411a]

We heard it last night but did not see it :confused: . Our house is about forty miles form the launch pad.

[JustMVG]

Yeah i missed it too, but here is the link i use to see whats coming up.
http://www.spacearchive.info/vafbsked.htm