Posted on 09/22/2005 6:32:04 PM PDT by Names Ash Housewares
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2005
When the sun goes down at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base tonight, an obscure little satellite will blast off to begin its year-long mission for the U.S. military's research and development agency.
The Space Test Program-R1 project's Streak satellite carries a classified price tag and limited details about its underlying purpose. But the launch should be widely visible throughout central and southern California, perhaps as far inland as Arizona and Nevada, if weather conditions permit, when the Minotaur rocket roars into space to deploy its cargo.
Liftoff from the Space Launch Complex 8 pad located on Vandenberg's southern edge will occur during a window extending from 7:24 to 7:40 p.m. PDT (10:24-10:40 p.m. EDT; 0224-0240 GMT). The period opens nearly a half-hour after sunset.
Ascending skyward along a southerly trajectory over the Pacific, the slender white rocket has the potential to produce a spectacular "twilight phenomenon" display of green, blue, white and rose colors in expanding, twisting clouds. The cause: unburned fuel particles and water drops in the rocket's contrail freeze in the less dense upper atmosphere and get reflected by sunlight at high altitudes during launches timed just before sunrise or shortly after sunset.
Thanks for posting this - we saw the colorful trails of a launch from Vandenburg a few years ago - we're in western AZ. Will look for this one tonight.
Launch updates here....
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/minotaur/stpr1/status.html
Is this going to be on the
NASA channel?
Not sure. I dont think so. Its military.
That will be cool to watch when somebody posts the video. I'm not going out there. I hear it's real hot, and there may be a hurricane as well. Don't get me started on the pollen. I'm going to be a regular here now, as I have lost my patience with Lucianne's staff. Y'all try to take me with a grain of salt. I'm a smart-aleck, but I don't mean any harm.
-Karen-
Rats.. Thx
You'll fit right in here :)
Didn'tnow there was a hurricane coming to california, but I'll keep an eye out.
I knew you could!
Can you see through Fog boys and girls?
Me neither!
Ah another node in the Rove Weather Machine
It was great!
That was sweet! The contrail was very brightly illuminated (still is) and it was easy to follow the rocket. The stage separation was spectacular. Thanks for posting.
.
Best West Coast launch to watch, ever.
L.A., we have seperation ..Big Time.
A total beaut...!!!
AR
.
I wonder if DU covered the launch as well.
I THINK I have some pics... will try to upload them ...
be right back.
Pretty freaking "far out" experience too! I had no clue it was going to happen, so I was totally shocked. My first impression was that it was an "earth killer" sized asteroid streaking along the upper atmosphere. I kid you not, it was like an opening scene from "Armageddon."
I was out on my sidewalk, and happened to look NW toward the Pacific Ocean (2 miles to my west.) It was streaking along creating an incandescent trail much longer than the arc covered by my hand, extended out.
At first I thought it was a meteor or asteroid, then perhaps a rocket. Because we live 7 miles north of the planets 2nd largest naval base, the home of several nuclear carriers etc (big target) I thought it might be a defensive missle flying out to intercept something bad which was inbound. For sure, it was "Holy S#!+!!!" time.
After about 20 seconds, it got stranger! The rocket made a "corona" at 45* angles to its track. It looked like a photo of a shock wave coming off a supersonic bullet, but ultra bright white, glowing brightly, covering a giant part of the sky. Like I said, my hand could not cover the bright part of it. It was a thousand times bigger and brighter than any "shooting star" I've ever seen.
All of the stoners and old hippies hanging out down at the beach must have been dumbstruck, watching it!
The dark shapes beneath the lights are trees I couldn't quite get out of the pics.
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