The Southwest's Source for Space and Astronomy Information

Press Reload if the following image is not visible.

Click on the following images for a larger version.

60-day Solar-Terrestrial Plot

Image: www.solen.info

Multi-year Solar Flux Plot

Image: NOAA

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.

(MAY 12) The Lompoc Record reports the Minuteman III test launch scheduled for May 16th from Vandenberg AFB has been postponed due to a technical problem.

The problem involves a command receiver decoder used in the missile's flight termination system. The flight termination system allows ground controllers to remotely destroy the missile in the event of an anomaly.

According to the article, the problem is currently under investigation and a new launch date has not been announced.

The Lompoc Record story is available online at http://www.lompocrecord.com/news/local/minuteman-test-delayed-from-may/article_8d8ac16c-9acd-11e1-94c4-001a4bcf887a.html

Brian Webb

Fire erupts from SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket during a test firing of the vehicle's engines at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. on April 30th. The test was conducted in preparation for the rocket's upcoming May 19th launch. The Hawthorne, Calif.-based firm plans to use the rocket to send an unmanned Dragon cargo craft on a mission to the International Space Station. Image courtesy of SpaceX

(MAY 4) LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, El Segundo, Calif. -- The U.S. Air Force successfully launched the second Advanced Extremely High Frequency spacecraft at 2:42 p.m. EDT, May 4 from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The satellite was carried aboard an Atlas V launch vehicle.

AEHF is a joint service satellite communications system that will provide survivable, global, secure, protected, and jam-resistant communications for high-priority military ground, sea and air assets. The AEHF system is the follow-on to the Milstar system, augmenting, improving and expanding the Department of Defense’s MILSATCOM architecture.

AEHF-2 was procured from Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company by the MILSATCOM Systems Directorate, part of the Air Force Space Command’s Space and Missile Systems Center. The MILSATCOM Systems Directorate plans, acquires and sustains space-based global communications in support of the president, secretary of defense and combat forces. The MILSATCOM enterprise consists of satellites, terminals and control stations and provides communications for more than 16,000 air, land and sea platforms.

Los Angeles AFB

(APR 23) LAS CRUCES, NM - When the sun goes down, researchers and staff at New Mexico State University's Apache Point Observatory go into high gear, mapping the universe one pinpoint at a time for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III project. More

Numerous sunspots accompany a recent upswing in solar activity in this Solar Dynamics Observatory image taken April 22. Two important measures of solar activity - the sunspot number and solar flux index - had temporarily been in decline since early March. The 11-year solar cycle is expected to peak in early 2013. Image courtesy NASA

(APR 17) SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Mars, the red planet, will be the focus for stargazers at a free, public viewing with the powerful Keck Telescope Friday, April 20. The event, which begins about 8 p.m., lasts several hours. The observatory opens its doors to the public every third Friday of the month in conjunction with the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit, whose members bring their own telescopes to Westmont for the public to gaze through. In case of inclement or overcast weather, please call the Telescope Viewing Hotline at (805) 565-6272 and check the Westmont website to see if the viewing has been canceled.

Westmont physics instructor Thomas Whittemore says Mars will lie in the constellation Leo that evening. “It’ll only be about 11 arc seconds in diameter, so seeing any detail on the red planet will be difficult,” he says. “Only under the steadiest seeing conditions will we have any hope of getting a glimpse of any detail on Mars, but we will try.”

While the telescope is still pointing up in the direction of Leo, Whittemore says he’ll aim the Keck Telescope beyond Mars and into the realm of the galaxies. “Among the spring’s finest galaxy groupings is the Leo Trio, a triplet of galaxies that includes M65, M66 and NGC3628,” he says. “Lying some 35 million light-years away, NGC3628 is a spiral galaxy discovered by Sir William Herschel in 1784. With a diameter of 300,000 light-years, it has about three times the extent of our own Milky Way Galaxy. Since we see it edge-on, it shows a wonderful dust lane that divides the galaxy in half, making it look like a cosmic hot dog.”

The viewing may also include two contrasting, open clusters in Cancer, the crab. “One of these, M44, also known as the Beehive Cluster, was first seen in a telescope by Galileo in 1609,” Whittemore says. “He counted about 40 stars in this spectacular gem, second only in its dazzle to the Pleiades. The stars in M44 are somewhat young by stellar standards, estimated to be about 600 to 700 million years old.”

Westmont students and faculty use the 24-inch reflector telescope to conduct astronomical research. The Keck Telescope is housed in the observatory between Russell Carr Field and the track and field/soccer complex. Free parking is available near the baseball field.

Westmont College

(APR 12) WASHINGTON -- Astronomers are actively hunting a class of supermassive black holes throughout the universe called blazars thanks to data collected by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). More

A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Medium+ (5,2) leaves Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg AFB on April 3. U.S. Air Force photo by Rodney Jones

(APR 3) VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Team Vandenberg launched a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Medium+ (5,2) from Space Launch Complex-6 here at 4:12 p.m. PDT today.

"The teamwork between the 30th Space Wing, the National Reconnaissance Office, United Launch Alliance and numerous other agencies was seamless," said Col. Nina Armagno, 30th Space Wing commander and launch decision authority. "It's this synergistic mindset and attention to detail that led to our amazing launch today."

The Delta IV carried a national security payload for the National Reconnaissance Office.

Team Vandenberg's next scheduled launch is a Minuteman III flight test, scheduled for April 10.

Vandenberg AFB

(APR 1) Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. – The launch of a Delta IV carrying a national security payload for the National Reconnaissance Office is delayed until April 3. The team is continuing to review data from an observation on the upper stage engine and requires additional time to complete its final assessment prior to launch. The launch is now planned for Tuesday, April 3 from Space Launch Complex-6 at 4:12 p.m. PDT Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The forecast shows a 40 percent chance of favorable weather conditions for launch.

United Launch Alliance

(MAR 23) VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Team Vandenberg is scheduled to launch a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Medium+ (5,2) rocket carrying a national security payload at 3:30 p.m. March 29 from Space Launch Complex-6 here.

"This will be the Department of Defense's first-ever launch of a Delta IV configured with a 5-meter payload fairing and two solid rocket motors," said Lt. Col. Brady Hauboldt, 4th Space Launch Squadron commander. The solid rocket motors each add nearly 225,000 pounds of thrust to augment the Delta IV's 650,000 pounds of main engine thrust.

Col. Nina Armagno, 30th Space Wing commander is the launch decision authority.

Vandenberg's 4th Space Launch Squadron has overseen launch vehicle mission assurance for this Delta IV since it arrived last fall. The squadron will join operators from across the 30th Space Wing, Space and Missile Systems Center, National Reconnaissance Office and United Launch Alliance for this launch.

"The 4th Space Launch Squadron formed in 1994 to support Titan missions at Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex-4, then re-activated in 2003 to operate the Atlas V and Delta IV launch systems," said Hauboldt. "Today we execute Western Range Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle spacelift operations with a combined team of engineers, space operators, program managers and missile maintenance technicians."

Vandenberg AFB

The entire sky as seen in the infrared is captured in this mosaic of images from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft. The mosaic was released on March 14th as NASA unveiled a new atlas and catalog of the entire infrared sky showing more than a half billion stars, galaxies and other objects captured by the WISE mission. WISE was launched from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base aboard a Delta rocket in 2009. Image courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA

(MAR 12) SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Weather permitting, Westmont’s powerful Keck Telescope will be available to Central Coast stargazers Friday, March 16, beginning at about 8 p.m. and lasting several hours. The observatory opens its doors to the public every third Friday of the month in conjunction with the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit, whose members bring their own telescopes to Westmont for the public to gaze through. In case of inclement weather, please call the Telescope Viewing Hotline at (805) 565-6272 and check the Westmont website to see if the viewing has been cancelled.

Westmont students and faculty use the 24-inch reflector telescope to conduct astronomical research. The Keck Telescope is housed in the observatory between Russell Carr Field and the track and field/soccer complex. Free parking is available near the baseball field.

Westmont physics instructor Thomas Whittemore says we don’t need a telescope to see a spectacular near-conjunction of Venus and Jupiter in the west. “These two planets have been closing in on one another for the last month or so,” he says. “On March 13 they were about 3 degrees apart. Now Venus, the brighter of the two, is moving up and away from Jupiter. They set a little after 10:30 this evening, but are still wonderful objects to see glowing above the northwestern horizon around 10.”

Westmont College

(MAR 11) One and perhaps two CMEs are expected to hit Earth's magnetic field today. Of particular interest is a CME launched toward Earth by a powerful M8-class eruption on March 10. Forecasters say the cloud could spark minor to severe geomagnetic storms when it arrives on March 11-12. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras tonight.

spaceweather.com

A model of NASA’s Orion spacecraft descends following release from an Air Force C-17 cargo plane high above Arizona during a test on February 29. The drop examined the disturbance of the air flow behind the spacecraft. The event was the latest in a series of parachute drop tests conducted by NASA at the U.S. Army’s Proving Grounds in Yuma, Arizona. Orion is being developed for the exploration of space beyond low Earth orbit. Photo courtesy of NASA

(FEB 28) BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. – The launch of an unarmed operational test Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., has been postponed.

The test launch is delayed in order to replace a test-unique tracking component used only on test missiles. The test-unique tracking component monitors missile location within geographic boundaries of the test range.

This tracking system is used solely in test launches of Minuteman III missiles and does not affect the operational reliability, accuracy or performance of the system.

The launch has not yet been rescheduled.

Air Force Global Strike Command

(FEB 25) VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile was launched during an operational test at 2:46 a.m. Feb. 25 from Launch Facility-09 on north Vandenberg.

Col. Nina Armagno, 30th Space Wing commander, was the launch decision authority. 30th Space Wing Western Range safety operations went as planned during the flight test.

"Extensive resources are devoted to every launch mission to ensure safety in our local area and downrange," said Armagno. "Public safety is my first priority during all launch operations."

Vandenberg AFB

The height of the world's forests are visible in this accurate, high-resolution map (click to enlarge) released by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif. on February 17. Scientists from JPL, the University of Maryland, and Woods Hole Research Center created the map using 2.5 million pulse measurements collected by NASA's ICESat satellite and other data from the Terra and TRMM satellites and the Space Shuttle. The map will help scientists better understand the role forests play in climate change and how their heights influence wildlife habitats within them, while also helping them quantify the carbon stored in Earth's vegetation. Image coutesy NASA/JPL-Caltech

(FEB 14) A new NASA satellite instrument that makes a quantum leap forward in detector technology has arrived at Orbital Sciences Corp. in Gilbert, Ariz. More

(FEB 8) A powerful instrument designed to give scientists more refined information about Earth’s atmosphere and improve weather and climate forecasts is now active and sending its first data back to Earth from America’s newest polar-orbiting satellite. More

Undulating terrain in the asteroid Vesta’s southern hemisphere is visible in this image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft released February 1. The terrain consists of linear, curving hills and depressions, which are most distinct in the right of the image. Many narrow, linear grooves run in various directions across this undulating terrain. There are some craters, less than 0.6 mile (1 kilometer) in diameter, in the bottom of the image. The Dawn mission to the asteroids Vesta and Ceres is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA. UCLA is responsible for overall Dawn mission science. Image courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

(FEB 1) Hawthorne, CA – Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) has successfully test fired SuperDraco, a powerful new engine that will play a critical role in the company’s efforts to change the future of human spaceflight. More

(JAN 24) LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, El Segundo, Calif. - The U.S. Air Force has stopped work on the Defense Weather Satellite System to implement the FY 2012 National Defense Authorization Act and FY12 Consolidated Appropriations Act.

The Defense Weather Satellite System was created out of the Executive Office of the President restructure of the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System program into separate civil and military space programs in February of 2010.

Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems is the prime contractor for the military DWSS program and is responsible for developing the satellite including the Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite provided by a subcontract with Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems.

Today the Air Force Defense Meteorological System Program constellation of satellites continues to provide high-quality and timely weather data to forecasters with two more satellites yet to be launched.

Los Angeles AFB

(JAN 22) If the sky is clear, skywatchers in the Southwest and beyond can see a close pairing of the night sky's two brightest objects next week. The celestial pairing occurs on the evening of January 26 when the Moon's slow eastward movement takes it approximately 7 degrees from the planet Venus.

Although the objects will appear to be close to one another, Venus will actually lie some 105 million miles behind the crescent Moon.

To see the close pairing, look in the southwest about 25 minutes after sunset. All you'll need to see the dusk duo are clear skies and the unaided eye.

Brian Webb

The cruise ship Costa Concordia lies on her side after striking a reef off of Giglio, Italy on Friday, January 13. DigitalGlobe's WorldView-1 commercial reconnaissance satellite recorded this amazing view of the disaster from orbit. WorldView-1 was launched aboard a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg AFB, Claif. on 2007 September 18. Image courtesy of DigitalGlobe

(JAN 13) Astronomers from the California Institute of Technology and the University of Arizona have released the largest data set ever collected that documents the brightening and dimming of stars and other celestial objects ­ 200 million in total. More

Fresh snow from a New Year storm blankets the Rocky Mountains and surrounding areas on January 2. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image during a pass over the region early that afternoon. The features visible in this view include the Gulf of California (lower left corner) and the Great Salt Lake (green area near the upper left margin). Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC

(JAN 2) TUCSON, Ariz. - The Steward Observatory Mirror Lab on the University of Arizona campus offers a unique opportunity to experience the groundbreaking work being done at our facility, located under the UA football stadium.

The mirror lab is renowned for developing and implementing technologies that enable production of the world’s largest and most challenging ground-based telescope mirrors.

A tour provides visitors with a behind-the-scenes look at cutting-edge optical technology and the revolutionary spin-casting processes involved in making these giant telescope mirrors.

Starting with the construction of the mold, to spin-casting, to grinding and polishing, the final result is a lightweight mirror ready for transportation to a mountaintop observatory where it will peer into remote regions of the cosmos, exploring the edges of the universe in an effort to answer a vast array of astronomical questions and make new discoveries.

Tours are conducted at 1 p.m and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Advance reservations are required and can be made by calling 520-626-8792.

Admission: $15 adults, $8 students
Audience: All, Small (1-50)

University of Arizona

Past News