The Southwest's Source for Space and Astronomy Information

For a complete listing of all recent and past Vandenberg launches, go to Vandenberg AFB Launch History. To access launch photos, videos, and audio reports, visit the Vandenberg Rocket and Missile Launch Multimedia library.

(NOV 20) EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Raytheon Company has completed integration, baseline performance characterization, and vibration testing of a space-based sensor intended to help NASA scientists better understand the effect of aerosols on global warming and climate change.

The Aerosol Polarimetry Sensor will conduct a three-year climate monitoring mission from NASA's Glory satellite. With 161 optical elements, including six precision-aligned telescopes, the sensor is designed to distinguish and characterize various aerosols and accurately measure their global distribution and lifetime.

The device will next undergo electromagnetic interference and thermal vacuum testing to confirm its performance in space-like conditions. Raytheon expects to complete the environmental tests in time to deliver the sensor in the first quarter of 2009.

Glory is scheduled for launch aboard a Taurus rocket from Vandenberg AFB.

Raytheon

A newly discovered type of aurora (blue) circles Saturn's north pole as heat from the planet's interior (red) silohuettes details in the atmosphere. The view was released by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California on November 12 and combines Cassini spacecraft images taken at two wavelengths in the infrared. JPL manages the Cassini mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. Image courtesy NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

(NOV 13) LIVERMORE, Calif. -- Astronomers for the first time have taken snapshots of a multi-planet solar system, much like ours, orbiting another star. More

(NOV 12) PASADENA, Calif. – NASA's first spacecraft dedicated to studying carbon dioxide, the leading human-produced greenhouse gas driving changes in Earth's climate, has arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., to begin final launch preparations. More

The test launch of a Minuteman III ICBM traces an arc across the sky early on the morning of November 5th. The vehicle lifted-off from an underground silo at Vandenberg Air Force Base and hurled an unarmed warhead on a 30-minute flight to an impact area at Kwajalein in the central Pacific. Brian Lockett recorded the powered portion or "boost phase" of the launch in this time exposure taken from the mountains northwest of Santa Barbara. Image Copyright 2008, Brian Lockett. Used with permission

(NOV 6) The annual Taurid meteor shower is underway and it could be a good show. 2008 is a "swarm year" for the Taurids. Between Nov. 5th and 12th, Earth is due to pass through an unusually dense swarm of gritty debris from parent comet 2P/Encke. When a similar encounter happened in 2005, sky watchers observed a slow drizzle of midnight fireballs for nearly two weeks. Whether 2008 will be as good as 2005, however, remains to be seen. In 2005, the swarm encounter was more central; Earth passed through the middle of the cloud. In 2008, forecasters believe we are closer to the outskirts. How much this will affect the shower, no one knows. The best time to look is during the hours around midnight when the constellation Taurus is high in the sky.

Visit http://spaceweather.com for sky maps and photos of the ongoing shower.

spaceweather.com

(NOV 5) VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- A Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile configured with a National Nuclear Security Administration test assembly was launched from North Vandenberg today at 1 a.m. More

The Robotic Arm Camera on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander provides a view under the spacecraft in an image released October 30. The lander took the image on October 18 during the 142nd Martian day, or sol, since landing. The flat patch in the center of the image has the informal name "Holy Cow," based on researchers' reaction when they saw the initial image of it only a few days after the 2008 May 25 landing. The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Image NASA/JPL-Caltech//University of Arizona/Max Planck Institute

(NOV 2) If you're located in the Americas, you might want to mark November 3rd on you calendar. That's when the Moon's orbit will carry it past another bright object - Jupiter.

As seen from Los Angeles, closest approach for the two bodies occurs that afternoon. However, at 17:53 PST (45 minutes after sunset) the Moon and Jupiter will still be fairly close with a separation of 2.5 degrees.

The separation will slowly increase as the evening progresses and the Moon continues its eastward motion.

Brian Webb

(OCT 31) VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) configured with one joint test assembly is scheduled to launch from North Vandenberg Wednesday morning as an operational test to determine the weapon system's reliability and accuracy. More

A Boeing Delta II rocket arcs across the sky (click to enlarge) on the evening of October 24 following liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The Delta delivered Italy's COSMO-3 Earth Observation satellite into a near-polar orbit. The webmaster recorded the first few minutes of the launch in this retouched time exposure made from the mountains north of Santa Barbara. Stars appear as short dashes. Visible in the left is the planet Venus and the lights of offshore oil platforms. Image Copyright 2008, Brian Webb

(OCT 24) VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. - Vandenberg AFB successfully launched a Delta II rocket today at 7:28 p.m. More

(OCT 23) A Delta II rocket is scheduled for launch this Friday evening from Vandenberg AFB. The Delta is scheduled to lift-off from Space Launch Complex 2-West, at 19:28:21 PDT during a one-second launch window.

The Delta will rise vertically for a few seconds before slowly pitching over and heading south. The booster will later deliver Italy's COSMO-3 satellite into a near-polar orbit.

After it becomes operational, COSMO-3 will provide high-resolution radar images of Earth for military and civil users.

Weather permitting, Friday's launch should be visible to the unaided eye for hundreds of miles.

Brian Webb

Driven by powerful Santa Ana winds, wildfires (click to enlarge) raged northwest of Los Angeles, California, in mid-October 2008. Not only did the winds fan the fires' flames, they also sent the smoke far out to sea. NASA's Aqua satellite imaged the fires at 2:20 p.m. local time (21:20 UTC) on October 13. Counter-clockwise swirls of smoke within the plume suggest shifting wind directions as the smoke moves westward. Further evidence of the Santa Ana winds' strength appears in the south, where a faint plume of dust mimics the smoke plume's general movement. Image: Jeff Schmaltz MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC

(OCT 15) PALMDALE, Calif. - Engineers and technicians from NASA, the German Space Agency and the Deutsches SOFIA Institut recently reinstalled the German-built primary mirror assembly into NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, airborne observatory.

Technicians removed the glass mirror from the modified 747SP observatory in April 2008 and transported it to NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., where it received its reflective aluminum coating in a vacuum chamber in June 2008. The coating, five one-millionths of an inch thick, will be reapplied as necessary during the 20-year life of the program.

"The reinstallation of the mirror is a significant program milestone on the path to science observations with the SOFIA observatory in the summer of 2009," said Bob Meyer, SOFIA program manager at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif.

SOFIA is a joint program between NASA and the German Space Agency. The SOFIA program is managed at NASA Dryden and the aircraft is based at the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility. NASA Ames manages the SOFIA science and mission operations in cooperation with the University Space Research Association, or USRA, and the DSI.

Dryden Flight Research Center

(OCT 15) Schoolchildren, families and citizen scientists around the world will gaze skyward after dark from Oct. 20 to Nov. 3, 2008, looking for specific constellations and then sharing their observations through the Internet. More

This portrait of star-forming cloud NGC 346 combines multiwavelength light from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope (infrared), the European Southern Observatory's New Technology Telescope (visible), and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton space telescope (X-ray). The infrared observations highlight cold dust in red, visible data show glowing gas in green, and X-rays show very warm gas in blue. Ordinary stars appear as blue spots with white centers, while young stars enshrouded in dust appear as red spots with white centers. Spitzer operations are conducted at the Spitzer Science Center at Cal Tech in Pasadena, Calif. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA/ESO/MPIA

(OCT 9) PASADENA, Calif. - A NASA/university team has published the first global satellite maps of the key greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in Earth's mid-troposphere, an area about 8 kilometers, or 5 miles, above Earth. More

(OCT 7) The Ventura County Astronomical Society (VCAS) will hold it's monthly membership meeting on Friday, October 17th at 7:30 PM at Vista Elementary School, 2175 Wisteria, Simi Valley. The speaker will be Mr. David Doody, from JPL, and is currently the Flight Operations Lead engineer for Cassini's Mission Support and Services Office. David started working with JPL's Deep Space Network in 1982, then joined Voyager in the outer solar system three years later. After then serving as a member of the Venus-mapping Magellan flight team, Dave joined Cassini in 1994. The presentation will include information about the European Huygens Probe, which Cassini carried, and completed a spectacular descent through Titan's atmosphere. Dave will describe the complex spacecraft, and share some of the stunning discoveries from Saturn and its moons, the planet's unexpected features, flying through an Old Faithful-size geyser that issues continuously from the tiny frozen moon Enceladus, the two-tone puzzle that is Iapetus, and the rivers and lakes on haze-enshrouded Titan. A report from Cassini wouldn't be complete without also enjoying views from high above Saturn's cloud tops, showing off the magnificent ring system in unprecedented detail from every perspective. The public is invited join us for a very interesting evening of learning about the wonderful world of Saturn.

Ventura County Astronomical Society

Western Colorado's Roan Plateau contains a variety of natural resources and scenic terrain: high ridges, deep valleys, waterfalls, cutthroat trout, mountain lions, bears, rare plants, and oil and natural gas. On September 25 the MODIS instrument on NASA's Terra satellite imaged the region through nearly cloud-free skies. The plateau assumes shades of green, brown, and beige, and deep canyons form branching, tree-like patterns on the landscape. Image: MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

(OCT 1) Using a powerful radio telescope to peer into the early universe, a team of California astronomers has obtained the first direct measurement of a nascent galaxy's magnetic field as it appeared 6.5 billion years ago. More

(SEP 30) New Mexico State University astronomy department head Jim Murphy has been recognized by the NASA Phoenix Lander mission for outstanding performance and his lasting contribution to the success of the Phoenix Mars lander.

A representative from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory awarded a certificate in late September for Murphy's research support of the surface environment characterization of Mars and for the design and operations of future spacecraft that could potentially land on Mars. Basically, Murphy's research focuses on the atmosphere of the planet Mars and its climate, weather and wind patterns.

Murphy has been teaching at NMSU for 11 years, and is in his 4th year as a department head.

New Mexico State University

A Chimiera missile lifts-off just before midnight on September 23 from Vandenberg Air Force Base on California's Central Coast. The launch coincided with a pass of the NFIRE satellite which observed the missile to collect data for the U.S. missile defense program. Aerospace photographer Brian Lockett captured the event in this time exposure taken near Refugio Pass in Santa Barbara County. Copyright 2008, Brian Lockett.

(SEP 25) WASHINGTON - Members of the public can send their names around Earth on NASA's Glory satellite, the first mission dedicated to understanding the effects of particles in the atmosphere and the sun's variability on our climate.

The "Send Your Name Around the Earth" Web site enables everyone to take part in the science mission and place their names in orbit for years to come. The Web site, where participants can submit their information, is located at:

http://polls.nasa.gov/utilities/sendtospace/jsp/sendName.jsp

Participants will receive a printable certificate from NASA and have their name recorded on a microchip that will become part of the spacecraft. The deadline for submitting names is Nov. 1, 2008.

Glory is scheduled for launch in June 2009 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

NASA

(SEP 24) VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Vandenberg successfully launched a space launch vehicle, the Chimera target launch vehicle, which is a modified Minuteman booster vehicle with a simplified target payload at 11:57 p.m. today from North Vandenberg. More

The THEMIS instrument on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft imaged complex terrain in the Red Planet's Iani Chaos region. The original image had a resolution of 18 meters (about 55 feet) and was centered on -0.8° N, 343.7° E. THEMIS is controlled and operated from the Arizona State University campus in Tempe, Arizona. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/ASU

(SEP 18) TUCSON, Ariz. -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has been awarded a $10 million Missile Defense Agency contract to continue research and development of the Network Centric Airborne Defense Element. More

(SEP 16) SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Westmont's Carroll Observatory reopens for free public viewings Friday, Sept. 19, at dusk. Weather permitting, stargazers will look through the powerful Keck Telescope at Jupiter in the southern sky.

Thomas Whittemore, instructor of physics, says the moon will not be visible until late Friday night, creating better viewing conditions for deep space.

"We may also be able to see objects near the zenith such as the Ring Nebula in Lyra," he says. "This is the remnants of a dying star, shedding its gaseous envelop into space. Similar to what will eventually happen to our sun, but in about four or five billion years."

Whittemore says some globular clusters may be visible as the winter Milky Way starts to move higher and higher into the evening sky.

The Carroll Observatory is open to the public every third Friday of the month.

Westmont College

Saturn's moons Pan and Prometheus create features in the planet's nearby rings in this Cassini spacecraft mosaic (click to enlarge) released September 12. Pan (17 miles, or 28 kilometers across), in the Encke Gap at left, is trailed by a series of edge waves in the outer boundary of the gap. Prometheus (53 miles, or 86 kilometers across at its widest point) just touches the inner edge of Saturn's F ring at right, and is followed by a series of dark channels in the ring, which were caused by the passage of Prometheus through the F ring on previous orbits. The Cassini orbiter and its onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL in Pasadena, Calif. Image: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

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