Vandenberg AFB Missile Launches

Anonymous Coward writes "Hi All: My Space Archive web site covers the activities of Vandenberg AFB, a military and civilian spaceport on California's central coast. After several weeks of work, I have finished extensively revising and expanding the Viewing Vandenberg AFB Launches page on my site. I've been observing and photographing these launches for several years. Some are visible over much of the western U.S., but there is little information about them. As far as I know, this is the only article ever written on observing these launches. Regards, Brian Webb"

Comments

Hrmph

[TobyIRC]

I doubt the men in suits will be very pleased that you've been recording their activites.

There's probably something in the PATRIOT ACT reguarding this.

Re:Hrmph

[Richard_at_work]

Why is it irresponsable? As he states, these launches are viewable over a huge area, theres no way they can keep this stuff secret. The US certainly monitors launches made by other countries, so why is a little bit of monitoring of its own launches so bad? Do they really deem themselves that far above the rest of the world?

Re:Hrmph

[cynic10508]

Why is it irresponsable? As he states, these launches are viewable over a huge area, theres no way they can keep this stuff secret. The US certainly monitors launches made by other countries, so why is a little bit of monitoring of its own launches so bad? Do they really deem themselves that far above the rest of the world?

You are correct: it is not secret. But it is sensitive.

It comes down to the argument of where does one draw the line of protecting secret versus sensitive information. Both can allow a third party to reach the same conclusion. For instance, take the first Gulf War. It was secret as to when the U.S. was going to attack. So that wasn't leaked. But newspapers remarked on how much take-out food was being delivered to the White House. This is sensitive information because a third party could do a traffic analysis and come to the conclusion that increased food deliveries means increased planning activity and therefore they're going to attack very soon.

Launches are cool but

[John Harrison]

Test firings last longer!

I spent a year working at Thiokol and they frequenlty test fired shuttle boosters and peacekeepers. Since the motor is strapped to a gigantic concrete slab it doesn't go anywhere.

From a half mile away the effect is impressive. First you see a bright light but there is no noise. When the sound hits you it feels like you have been hit. If there is tall grass it bends over as the shock wave approaches. Then the sound just does not let up. Like a deep tissue amssage for a minute.

bahahhaah..

[isaac338]

"Anonymous Coward writes.." ... "regards, Brian Webb".

nice anonymity!

in Further news

[arakon]

A suspected terrorist was arrested in California today. He was reportedly gathering military intelligence and distributing it to terrorist cells via the internet.

Now for the weather....

Known, Vandenberg publishes schedules.

[Anonymous Coward]

There was one during daylight a year or two ago. You could see it in the SF Bay area, and all the news outlets reported on it. The launches are somewhat routine, testing missile detection equipment in the Aleutian islands. They happened to have perfect weather in the late afternoon, so they took an early shot. Scared the shit out of a lot of people.

Some of the launches are published on-line from Vandenberg AFB. And there are hobby sites tracking them. Not new.

Good info, but not complete

[Rorschach1]

There are actually a few good viewing sites on or around the base that are accessible to the general public, including the viewing stands at the base weather station.

I run the website that hosts the official base launch schedule (http://mocc.vandenberg.af.mil), and I've tried a number of times to get Public Affairs to compile - or allow me to compile - a list of these sites and related information, but I haven't had any luck so far. I get email from people all the time asking about this, and usually all I can do is direct them to Brian's page.

The commercial launch operators are usually pretty good about releasing information on launch schedules, payloads, and so on. The military is understandably more restrained, and you won't even see all of the military launches listed on the schedule. They are generally listed on a number of sites like Brian's, though.

Now, before anyone starts freaking out about classified information, it should be noted that even the classified launches have an unclassified launch window published. There's simply no way to keep such an operation secret. The real launch window, though, is often classified. For example, a launch might have a published 8-hour window, even though the real window could be a few minutes or less. (For the record, I don't deal with classified schedules. Even when I'm spending the night working launch support, I often don't know the exact launch time until I hear the countdown on the radio.)

If you're ever in the area for a Delta or Atlas launch especially, it's worth watching. Of course, they're even cooler to watch when they blow up. Liquid-fuelled rockets turn into huge fireballs, and solid-fuelled rockets fragment into thousands of little tiny shooting stars of burning fuel. And then they start thousands of little brush fires if they're low enough, which isn't so cool.

Vandenberg launches are fun to watch

[Thagg]

I watch as many as I can, they're pretty easy to see from Los Angeles, on a clear day (and most of them are!)

I've seen the Delta II launch of both Ikonos and Gravity Probe B. Both of these were daylight launches, and would have been impossible to see if they didn't have extremely tight (and nicely publicized by Aviation Week) launch windows. If you know where to look, they're quite nice to see. The arc of the rocket as it bends over and smoothly accelerates to the south is math in motion, just beautiful.

I've also watched a couple of the Minuteman launches testing missle defense systems. Again, these were well publicized events. On my street in Calabasas for the last one, everybody was out in their lawn chairs waiting for it. It did not disappoint. Compared to a satellite launch, the Minuteman gets out of the atmosphere in a hurry, and the solid fuel exhaust blooms into a huge flower-shaped colorful cloud once it is in space.

Still, it's basically impossible for me to see the beauty in a Minuteman launch. It's a goddamn ICBM, its only purpose to kill millions of people.

Any you idiots picking on the maintainer of the site -- get real. Read the site, there is absolutely nothing there than any third-grader couldn't figure out with ten minutes, a road atlas and a blunt crayon. There are a few other good Vandenberg launch sites out there, too, like
this one

I've fantasized about burying a cellphone near Vandenberg, and set it up to call me when it feels the vibration of a launch. It'd be cool, cheap, and easy. Obviously the solar charger and antenna would have to be above ground. The problem with most Vandenberg launches is that you don't know when they are going to happen -- but if you knew they were firing you could just step outside and see.

Thad Beier