Today’s clouds have stubbornly refused to clear out and tonight’s Sidewalk astronomy is cancelled.
We hope you all had a chance to see the SpaceX launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenburg Air Force Base last night. Spectacularly illuminated by the just set sun those lucky enough to look had a grand stand view of the separation of the first and second stages and then witness the second stage carrying the 10 Iridium Next satellites to a successful orbit insertion while the first stage returned to Earth ‘landing’ on the Pacific Ocean. I’ve posted a photo of the first and second stage separation evens on our Sidewalk Astronomers Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/OTAstro/posts/1944561659129640
We look forward to seeing you all in the New Year and keep looking up - you never know what you might otherwise be missing!
Gary Spiers
Tonight there is a scheduled launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg
that has the potential for an impressive show in the evening sky. Here
is an excerpt from the Launch Alert email list:
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FRIDAY LAUNCH VISIBILITY
Friday evening's launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg AFB
appears to be on schedule. The vehicle is slated to lift off from
south base at 17:27:23 PST and carry several Iridium NEXT commercial
communications satellites into orbit.
Following liftoff, the vehicle will climb vertically for several
before it begins a gradual turn and heads south.
The rocket's bright flame should be visible over a wide area. However,
since this launch occurs 30 minutes after Vandenberg AFB sunset, it
could be impressive beginning at T+ 2 minutes 12 seconds when
simulations show the exhaust plume will be illuminated at high
altitude by the sun.
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If the launch happens on time, at 5:27 p.m., it should appear as a
remarkable exhaust plume in the general direction of south west.
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones
Monrovia, CA
BridgeMojo <https://bridgemojo.com>
Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers <http://otastro.org>
Mojo's Blog <http://mojo.whiteoaks.com>
