Two launches ready at Vandenberg: Titan II reset for Tuesday; Delta

NOTE TO EDITORS: Both missions are weather-related/Earth-resource satellites; recommend forwarding background info to your weather forecasters for use in their nightly WX standups.

See info for local "Condor" audio net frequencies for Tuesday's (rescheduled) Titan II launch and NASA TV satellite coverage for Thursday's Delta II launch from Vandenberg AFB in northern Santa Barbara County.

Regards,
Jim Spellman
NATIONAL SPACE SOCIETY
Western Spaceport Chapter
www.hometown.aol.com/wspaceport/Welcome.html
www.nss.org

Two launches ready to go from Vandenberg AFB:
Titan II reset for Tuesday; Delta II Thursday
Possibility of "Twilight Phenomena" to be seen in early morning drive-time hours

Titan II Coriolis mission delayed

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CA -- The launch of a Titan II booster from Space Launch Complex-4 West here has been twice delayed due to bad weather and a concern with the booster payload separation ordinance connector. The launch has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 6:18 a.m.

The joint government and industry project dubbed "Coriolis" will put the Navy Windsat Radiometer and an Air Force Solar Mass Ejection Imager in a low Earth, sun synchronous orbit.

The Windsat radiometer will provide meteorological information on wind speed and direction at or near the surface of the ocean and the Solar Mass
Ejection Imager will provide early warning of coronal mass ejections that affect communications and power distribution systems on earth. The Titan is set to leave south Vandenberg at 06:18 PST, the start of a 15-minute launch window.

Following liftoff, the refurbished strategic missile will begin heading southward. Several minutes later the Coriolis satellite should be placed in an elliptical polar orbit.

Since launch is slated for morning twilight, a nice visual display might occur as the vehicle emerges from the Earth's shadow and sunlight reflects off of the exhaust. If such a display does take place, it will probably be during the late portion of the second stage burn.

If Sunday's launch is postponed, another launch opportunity will occur at the same time on Monday morning.

LAUNCH VIEWING

As mentioned above, the Twilight Effect may occur during the second stage burn when the vehicle is far south of Vandenberg. This would make the coast from Palos Verdes to Baja California the best viewing area.

When selecting a viewing location, keep in mind that the weather conditions are now the opposite of those encountered during the warmer months of the year.

From April to October, low fog and clouds are present along the coast. Coastal mountains above 3,000 feet are usually above the Marine Layer
and offer clear skies. However, during the cooler months, the conditions are often the reverse. Low lying areas along the coast are often clear while clouds are often present over coastal mountains and ridgelines.

If you're considering using a mountain as a viewing location for the launch, my advice would be to take a look at it before you drive up and have a backup location in mind.

MISSION BACKGROUND

Detailed information about the Coriolis mission is available on the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command web site. The URL is:

http://enterprise.spawar.navy.mil/spawarpublicsite/body.cfm

NEWS STORY

Public radio station KCLU aired a story last night about the Titan II/Coriolis launch. This story is available on the Web at:

http://home.earthlink.net/~kd6nrp/library.htm

Look in the audio file section for "coriolis.mp3".

COUNTDOWN STATUS

The best source of countdown status for the Titan II/Coriolis launch is the Spaceflight Now web site. Space journalist Justin Ray is now providing current countdown status on a web page devoted to this launch. Point your browser to:

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/titan/g4/status.html

On launch day, this page will be updated frequently beginning at about T-1 hour. Be sure to regularly hit the refresh button on your browser to see the latest information.

VANDENBERG LAUNCH NET

Amateur (ham) radio operators in southern California will probably meet on the air on launch day to hold a Vandenberg Launch Net. This informal net is used to discuss pending launches and pass along countdown status. It usually runs from T-30 to T+15 minutes.

The participants primarily use the Broadcast Peak repeater near Santa Barbara. It has very wide coverage and is a cross-band repeater. In other words, it simultaneously receives and rebroadcasts signals on the 2-meter, 220, and 440 amateur radio bands. The output frequencies are 147.000, 224.900, 449.300 MHz. The offset and PL tone for all frequencies are minus and 131.8 Hz, respectively.

Since this launch may be visible across a wide area, additional repeaters may be used for the benefit of those in outlying areas. These would be the 147.090 MHz Santa Catalina repeater and the Condor linked repeater system.

Condor is a network of linked repeaters in California and adjoining areas. Because the repeaters are linked, a ham using one repeater will be heard on all of the other repeaters in the system. The Condor repeaters are as follows:

Freq. PL
(MHz) Offset (Hz) Location
223.840 - 156.7 Victorville
223.940 - 141.3 San Diego
223.940 - 156.7 Thousand Oaks
224.000 - 156.7 Santa Barbara
224.180 - 156.7 Palm Springs
224.640 - 156.7 Lake Isabella
224.720 - 156.7 Gorman
224.820 - 141.3 Lompoc
224.820 - 156.7 Orange County
224.880 - 156.7 Kingman, AZ
224.900 - 156.7 Fresno
224.900 - 156.7 Las Vegas, NV
224.920 - 156.7 San Luis Obispo*

* This repeater may be off the air or disconnected from the system.

ICESAT/CHIPSAT READY FOR LAUNCH

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CA -- Team Vandenberg is set to launch a Boeing Delta II Rocket Thursday from Space Launch Complex 2. The 45-minute launch window opens at 4:45 p.m.

The NASA payload aboard the rocket is the ICESat, an Ice Cloud and land Elevation Satellite and CHIPSat, a Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma
Spectrometer. The satellites are to be placed in polar orbits 375 and 350 miles, respectively, above the earth.

ICESat, a 661-pound satellite, is a benchmark satellite for the Earth Observing System that will help scientists determine if the global sea level is rising or falling. It will observe the ice sheets that blanket the Earth's poles to determine if they are growing or shrinking. It will assist in developing an understanding of how changes in the Earth's atmosphere and climate affect polar ice masses and global sea level. The Geoscience Laser Altimeter System is the sole instrument on the satellite.

CHIPSat, a suitcase-size 131-pound satellite, will provide information about the origin, physical processes and properties of the hot gas contained in the interstellar medium. This can provide important clues about the formation and evolution of galaxies since the interstellar medium literally contains the seeds of future stars.

- 30 -

MEDIA ADVISORY: News media desiring advance accreditation for the launch of ICESat/CHIPSat should fax their request on news organization letterhead to:

George H. Diller
NASA Resident Office
Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA 93437
FAX: (805) 605-3380.

For more information on launch accreditation, contact NASA Public Affairs at Vandenberg Air Force Base Monday at (805) 605-3051. Accreditation requests to cover the launch should be received by Dec.18.

For further information call 2nd Lt. Kelly Gabel or Master Sgt. Lloyd Conley in the 30th Space Wing Public Affairs office at (805) 606-3595.

NEWS CONFERENCE: Media desiring to cover the prelaunch news conference at 1 p.m. Dec. 18, should meet at Vandenberg's south gate on California State Road 246 at 12:30 p.m. They will be escorted to the NASA Vandenberg Resident Office in Building 840. A post-launch news conference will not be held. However, media will have the opportunity to interview launch officials afterward at the NASA Mission Director's Center in Building 840, if desired.

REMOTE CAMERA SET-UP: Media should contact 2nd Lt. Kelly Gabel in the 30th Space Wing Public Affairs Office at (805) 606-3595 no later than 2 p.m. Dec. 17. Media who desire to setup sound-activated remote cameras at the SLC-2 launch pad will depart South Gate at 2 p.m. Dec.18.

DELTA II PHOTO OPPORTUNITY AT THE LAUNCH PAD: There will be an opportunity to photograph the Boeing Delta II launch vehicle at SLC-2 on the morning of Dec 19 after the mobile service tower has been retracted. Media wishing to participate should meet at the base main gate at 7 a.m. for escort to the launch pad. The event will end at 8:30 a.m.

LAUNCH DAY PRESS COVERAGE: Media covering the launch should meet at the base main gate at 3:30 p.m. for escort to the press site. Media will be escorted back to the main gate after the launch or to the NASA Mission Director's Center in Building 840 for interviews if desired.

NASA TELEVISION AND VOICE CIRCUIT COVERAGE: NASA Television will broadcast the prelaunch news conference at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

A complete ICESat/CHIPSat video package will be broadcast afterward. NASA TV launch day coverage of the countdown begins at 3 p.m. and ends at L+90 minutes after both spacecraft have separated from the Delta II launch vehicle.

NASA Television is carried on GE-2, transponder 9C located at 85 degrees West longitude. Audio only will be available on the "V" circuit numbers that may be accessed directly by dialing 321/867- 1220, 1240, 1260, or 7135.

NASA Television coverage of the ICESat/CHIPSat launch will also be web cast on the NASA-KSC Home Page at:

http://www.ksc.nasa.gov

Choose KSC Live Video Feeds followed by NASA Television Coverage.

NASA ICESAT/CHIPSAT NEWS CENTER: The ICESat/CHIPSat News Center at the NASA Vandenberg Resident Office will be staffed Monday. For launch information, contact George Diller at (805) 605-3051. A recorded status report will also be available by dialing (805) 734-2693.