Hello,
Dan Wright wrote:
> OK so the six-hour window is between 3 AM and 9 AM. Right, but when
> will it *actually* be launched? I realize we can't be sure. But
> from your memory of past quoted launch windows and past actual launch
> times, are they likely to fire it off at 3:01? At 9:01? Exactly
> half-way at 6:01? What's been the pattern?
AFAIK they aim for the very beginning of the launch window. In my experience,
about half of the Minuteman launches are on time (within 10 minutes from the
beginning of the launch window), and the rest are either delayed beyond that or
scrubbed.
From my location (South Bay) the rocket gets visible about a minute after
launch. Minuteman launches generally are very easy to see, because they get
quite high up (I'd say about 30 deg above the horizon). Generally, I can see
the rocket first directly in Southern direction (or just a few degrees East from
there); then it climbs higher and moves to the west. Booster separation is well
visible, with the tumbling boosters putting quite a show sometimes, although I
personally think the Delta boosters are more fun to watch. I usually watch with
binoculars, but naked eye is OK too (although you can't see the boosters that
well). From my place I can see the rocket to engine cutoff.
The late night launches (like this one) are OK, but they are nothing compared to
a twilight launch. If the timing is right, the rocket leaves a colorful trail
that stays visible for quite long. Here is a picture I took in 2002 from the
Snell light rail station in San Jose:
http://avtanski.com/images/var/20081014MinutemanLaunch.jpg
With a night launch, you usually cannot see the condensation trail (well, maybe
unless the Moon is a really bright). Day launches sometimes leave a nice
condensation trail, but with them the rocket itself is not visible.
Have fun watching, and please post some OR, because at the time of the launch I
plan to be in deep sleep, :-)
Regards,
- Alex
-- GSSP Update (5/19/08): http://tinyurl.com/4g2muu TAC Stats Tracking: http://tinyurl.com/5w795e Mailing list preferences: http://seds.org/mailman/listinfo/sf-bay-tacReceived on Wed May 21 16:15:02 2008
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