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.

(MAY 15) PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA news briefings, live commentary and updates before and after the scheduled Sunday, May 25 arrival of the agency's Phoenix Mars Lander will be available on NASA Television and on the Web. More

Since its launch in 1999, NASA's Terra spacecraft has monitored numerous natural disasters. On May 5 Terra's MODIS instrument recorded the extensive flooding in Myanmar (Burma) from Cyclone Nargis. The country's once distinct coastline resembles an irregular mix of islands and water (this is especially evident in the lower left). The entire coastal plain is flooded and fallow agricultural areas appear to have been especially hard hit. Several large cities are in the affected area and Yangon (population over 4 million) is almost completely surrounded by floods. MODIS was built by Santa Barbara Remote Sensing in California. Image and caption NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center

(MAY 9) When NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander descends to the surface of the Red Planet on May 25, few will be watching as closely as the men and women who have spent years planning, analyzing and conducting tests to prepare for the dramatic and nerve-wracking event known as EDL -- Entry, Descent and Landing. More

(MAY 7) Two decades of scrutinizing Saturn are finally paying off, as scientists have discovered a wave pattern, or oscillation, in Saturn's atmosphere only visible from Earth every 15 years. More

A long-lived storm on Saturn appears as a light area in this Cassini spacecraft image released by California's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) April 29th. The powerful electrical storm produces lightning bolts 10,000 times more powerful than those found on Earth. Storms on Saturn have diameters of several thousand miles and radio signals produced by their lightning are thousands of times more powerful than those produced by terrestrial thunderstorms. Cassini's radio plasma wave instrument detects the storm every time it rotates into view. JPL, a division of Caltech, manages the Cassini mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Image and caption courtesy JPL.

(MAY 1) WASHINGTON -- NASA invites people of all ages to join the lunar exploration journey with an opportunity to send their names to the moon aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, spacecraft.

LRO will also create a comprehensive atlas of the moon's features and resources that will be needed as NASA designs and builds a planned lunar outpost. The mission will support future human exploration while providing a foundation for upcoming science missions. LRO is scheduled for launch in late 2008.

NASA

(APR 30) PASADENA, Calif. -- A NASA and French Space Agency (CNES) spacecraft designed to continue a long-term survey of Earth's oceans has arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., for final launch preparations. More

The frequency of high winds above the Gulf Stream during winter is revealed in this map created from data collected by NASA's QuikScat satellite. Lower wind speeds are depicted in purple and higher wind speeds in red. The contour lines show sea surface temperatures in degrees Celsius. QuikScat was launched aboard a converted Titan II ICBM from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California in 1999. Image credit: NASA/JPL/University of Hawaii at Manoa

(APR 23) A small motor in the robotic arm of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity that began stalling occasionally more than two years ago has become more troublesome recently. More

(APR 22) NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., will welcome members of the public to its Open House on Saturday, May 3, and Sunday, May 4. Children will be able to participate in many hands-on activities. More

The outlying regions of the galaxy M83 are highlighted in this composite image from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) and the National Science Foundation's Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope in New Mexico. GALEX ultraviolet observations, shown in blue (far-UV) and green (near-UV), highlight the galaxy's farthest-flung clusters of young stars up to 140,000 light-years from its center. VLA radio observations at 21 centimeters appear in red. They highlight gaseous hydrogen atoms, or raw ingredients for stars, which make up the lengthy, extended arms. Caltech in Pasadena, California, hosts the GALEX science center and has overall responsibility for the project. Image courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech/VLA/MPIA

(APR 16) Boeing Launch Services has been awarded a contract to launch DigitalGlobe's second WorldView Earth-imaging satellite. The payload is slated to lift-off from California's Vandenberg AFB in mid-2009 aboard a Delta II rocket. More

(APR 15) MINNEAPOLIS -- Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) has received a contract option worth $134 million from Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) to refurbish components and replace propellant on Minuteman III Stage 1, 2 and 3 rocket motors. This award is the seventh full-rate production option under the ICBM Propulsion Replacement Program.

The option is for 50 motor sets and will extend the program through August 2009.

The Minuteman III Propulsion Replacement Program (PRP) began in 1998 as a Joint Venture between ATK and Pratt & Whitney. All work content was transitioned to ATK in the 2003-2004 timeframe following a contract restructure. Most of the work on the contract will be performed at the company's facilities in Utah.

Alliant Techsystems

The battered surface of the martian moon Phobos is revealed in this Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image released by the University of Arizona. The spacecraft's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) imaged the moon on March 23rd from a distance of about 4,200 miles miles (6,800 kilometers). Clearly visible are the large impact crater Stickney (right) and a series of grooves and crater chains. The University of Arizona operates the HiRISE camera for NASA. Image courtesy the University of Arizona

(APR 9) MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- NASA is preparing to send a small spacecraft to the moon in 2011 to assess the lunar atmosphere and the nature of dust lofted above the surface. More

(APR 9) The University of Colorado at Boulder's own version of "The Rocket Boys" (and Girls) will help to launch a CU payload on a sounding rocket to measure ultraviolet radiation from the sun from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico April 10. More

A Minuteman III missile lights up the night sky above California. The ICBM lifted-off from Vandenberg AFB at 01:01 PDT on April 2nd and sent an unarmed warhead some 4,800 miles downrange to a predetermined target at Kwajalein in the Central Pacific. Aerospace photographer Brian Lockett recorded the launch in this impressive time exposure taken from the mountains northwest of Santa Barbara. Copyright 2008, Brian Locket. Used with permission.

(APR 2) VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – A Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile configured with a National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) test assembly was launched from North Vandenberg today at 1:01 a.m. More

(MAR 31) 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 determine the weapon system's reliability and accuracy. The six-hour launch window is from 1:01 a.m. to 7:01 a.m.

The missile will launch under the direction of the 576th Flight Test Squadron.

Col. Michael E. Fortney, 30th Space Wing vice commander, is the spacelift commander for this mission. Lt. Col. Lesa K. Toler, 576th FLTS commander, is the mission director.

Members of the 576th FLTS installed tracking, telemetry and command destruct systems on the missile to collect data and meet safety requirements.

The missile's single unarmed re-entry vehicle is expected to travel approximately 4,200 miles, hitting a pre-determined water target in the Marshall Islands.

The entire ICBM community, including the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy, will use the data collected from this mission.

Vandenberg AFB

To the delight of solar observers, three diminutive sunspots recently emerged on the Sun. The spots, which are numbered 987, 988, and 989 are visible in this SOHO satellite image taken March 30th. Despite their small size, the solar blemishes have been having an impact. On March 25th, sunspot 989 produced a sizable solar flare. Meanwhile, increased solar activity associated with the spots improved high frequency (shortwave) radio transmission and reception. Image courtesy NASA

(MAR 27) California-based SpaceX reports the firm conducted the first three-engine firing of its Falcon 9 medium to heavy lift rocket at its facility outside McGregor, Texas on March 8, 2008. At full power the engines generated over 270,000 pounds of force, and consumed 1,050 lbs of fuel and liquid oxygen per second. A total of nine Merlin 1C engines will power the Falcon 9 rocket.

The test series continues with the addition of two engines for a total of five, then finally the full compliment of nine engines. With all engines firing, the Falcon 9 can generate over one million pounds of thrust in vacuum - four times the maximum thrust of a 747 aircraft.

The Merlin 1C next generation liquid fueled rocket booster engine is among the highest performing gas generator cycle kerosene engines ever built, exceeding the Boeing Delta II main engine, the Lockheed Atlas II main engine, and on par with the Saturn V F-1 engine.

The first Falcon 9 remains on-schedule for delivery to Cape Canaveral, Florida, by the end of 2008.

Space Development Corporation (SpaceX)

(MAR 26) PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Cassini spacecraft tasted and sampled a surprising organic brew erupting in geyser-like fashion from Saturn's moon Enceladus during a close flyby on March 12. Scientists are amazed that this tiny moon is so active, "hot" and brimming with water vapor and organic chemicals. More

Winds blow gypsum sand from White Sands National Monument, New Mexico across the southern part of the state. Pale gypsum sand covers some 275 square miles (715 square kilometers) of desert at White Sands, providing ample material for storms when strong winds strike. NASA's Aqua spacecraft imaged the event as it passed overhead on March 14. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC

(MAR 21) VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. - The crew of the STS-123 Endeavour Space Shuttle is traveling with a unique payload that was designed by a lieutenant here. More

(MAR 18) Researchers from the California Institute of Technology and other institutes have detected water vapor in the spinning disks of particles surrounding two newly formed stars. More

The first-ever Atlas V launch from Vandenberg AFB traces an arc in the early morning sky on March 13. Matt Batryn captured the event in this time exposure from Port San Luis, California. Clearly visible are the rocket's trajectory including a lateral maneuver and numerous star trails caused by the Earth's rotation. Batryn used a Nikon D70S digital SLR and an exposure of 207 seconds at f/3.5 and ISO 200. Copyright 2008, Matt Batryn. Used with permission.

(MAR 13) Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., - Adding to the Atlas rocket's legacy of launches from the west coast that began in 1959, United Launch Alliance's Atlas V made its debut flight from Space Launch Complex-3 East here at 3:02 a.m. PDT, today. More

(MAR 11) VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Vandenberg is scheduled to launch an Atlas V rocket carrying a National Reconnaissance Office payload, Thursday with a current launch window of 2:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. from Space Launch Complex-3 on south Vandenberg.

Col. Steve Tanous, 30th Space Wing commander, will be the spacelift commander for this mission.

This will be the first Atlas V launched from Vandenberg as well as the first launch of the year.

Vandenberg AFB

On March 6 the University of Arizona released the first images from the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) including this false-color view of the galaxy NGC 2770. The image combines ultraviolet, green, and deep red light and enhances the detailed structure of hot, moderate and cool stars in the galaxy. Billed as the world's most powerful telescope, the LBT sits atop Mount Graham in southeastern Arizona and has a light-collecting area equivalent to a single 11.8-meter (39-foot) surface. Image courtesy Large Binocular Camera team, Rome Observatory

(MAR 9) If the sky is clear this Friday (March 14), look for the close encounter of the Moon and Mars. From Los Angeles, closest approach occurs at about 19:58 PDT (02:58 UTC) during evening twilight. At that time, the first quarter Moon will lie about 1.3° north of the + 0.5 magnitude Red Planet.

The close pairing of the two objects is somewhat misleading. Although they will be lined up in the same part of the sky, the Moon will be about 247,000 miles from Earth while Mars will be 109 million miles further away.

(MAR 6) With just binoculars, you might see a relatively bright star wink out briefly as a moon of the asteroid (45) Eugenia covers it; this rare event will be visible across the southern USA Saturday evening, March 8. More

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