Author Topic: What launched from Vandenberg  (Read 28471 times)

Offline freakdog

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Re: What launched from Vandenberg
« Reply #20 on: 11/08/2015 03:14 am »
Here's my pics.

Offline WheelsStop

Re: What launched from Vandenberg
« Reply #21 on: 11/08/2015 06:00 am »
I got lucky and was out at the right time looking at an Iridium flare to catch this.  For the record, here's an attempt to describe how it looked to me:

I was in Temecula (inland between San Diego and Los Angeles) and noticed it first as a contrail with a bright spot at one end and thought - wow, that's a cool fireball/bolide!  At the time it was yellowish.  It then blossomed into a small glowing ball (staging?), and a few seconds later a much brighter white blossom (second stage ignition?) that created a visible shockwave through the rest of the cloud!  It's really hard to describe how unusual and awesome seeing that was!  The core seemed to glow bluish, but the white cloud expanded around it, fading very gradually, and at one point covered nearly my entire forward view (i.e. not half the sky, but a very big corner of it).  My impression was that the contrail started too far south to be Vandenberg, so my best guess at the time was San Clemente Island.  That area would make sense for a sub launch as well.

It looks like the missile must have tracked up the coast, and my perspective was aft quarter to tail-on.  The first twitter photos posted up thread are from Santa Cruz and it looks side-on from there with the white cloud ahead (to the right of) the blue portion.

I assume the white cloud was sunlit exhaust at altitude, but what of the blue glow (which persisted for maybe as long as 10 minutes after?)  Is it just a different exhaust component being lit by the sun?  Or would some rocket exhaust ionize and glow like that at altitude?

I managed to get my camera out and fumble around in the dark to get some mediocre photos (handheld DSLR in the dark, ugh!), but they give a sense of the persistence of the blue cloud - the timestamps on the photos are 18:01, 18:02, and 18:06 (PST) respectively.

Offline Orbiter

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Re: What launched from Vandenberg
« Reply #22 on: 11/08/2015 06:03 pm »
Quality posts on here, which is nice to see compared to the incredible amount of misinformation going around the web about this particular event. I remember two of the most recent pre-dawn Atlas V launches also caused similar buzz around Florida.
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Offline NovaSilisko

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Re: What launched from Vandenberg
« Reply #23 on: 11/08/2015 06:06 pm »
Quality posts on here, which is nice to see compared to the incredible amount of misinformation going around the web about this particular event. I remember two of the most recent pre-dawn Atlas V launches also caused similar buzz around Florida.

Weird thing in the sky = aliens
Weird thing in the sky + government explanation = DEFINITELY ALIENS

Offline Helodriver

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Re: What launched from Vandenberg
« Reply #24 on: 11/08/2015 06:27 pm »
Best video yet to surface of the Trident II test off the California coast.  I missed this spectral light show because I was in a theater catching "Spectre" last night. ;)



Offline Star One

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Re: What launched from Vandenberg
« Reply #25 on: 11/09/2015 08:38 am »

Quality posts on here, which is nice to see compared to the incredible amount of misinformation going around the web about this particular event. I remember two of the most recent pre-dawn Atlas V launches also caused similar buzz around Florida.

Weird thing in the sky = aliens
Weird thing in the sky + government explanation = DEFINITELY ALIENS

This aspect has seemed particular bad this year for some reason.

Offline kevin-rf

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Re: What launched from Vandenberg
« Reply #26 on: 11/09/2015 01:32 pm »

Quality posts on here, which is nice to see compared to the incredible amount of misinformation going around the web about this particular event. I remember two of the most recent pre-dawn Atlas V launches also caused similar buzz around Florida.

Weird thing in the sky = aliens
Weird thing in the sky + government explanation = DEFINITELY ALIENS

This aspect has seemed particular bad this year for some reason.
Aliens
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It's your med's!

Offline CJ

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Re: What launched from Vandenberg
« Reply #27 on: 11/09/2015 11:16 pm »
I'm a bit perplexed by these Trident D5 launches (there's been another).

The claim I'm seeing is that secrecy was essential for the tests to avoid the Russians or Chinese monitoring them.

However, there's an agreement in place requiring notification of ballistic missile tests, due to the danger that the other side could think it's an attack. Firing a SLBM in a northbound trajectory from off California would certainly run that risk.

http://www.state.gov/t/avc/trty/187150.htm

So, if the Russians were notified, it seems to rather negate the secrecy claim.

My current guess; the secrecy was aimed at the US military, part of a test of missile tracking. It's much more realistic if the trackers (or anyone involved in any test) don't know in advance.

I wonder what the ground track really was?

Interesting stuff!     

Offline Star One

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Re: What launched from Vandenberg
« Reply #28 on: 11/10/2015 12:46 am »
I assume all these tests are part of the LE program for the Trident.

Offline FinalFrontier

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Re: What launched from Vandenberg
« Reply #29 on: 11/10/2015 12:51 am »
Pretty cool to see a trident test at night like that. One of the most powerful and all around great weapon systems ever developed.

Testing is probably not just in relation to the LE program but also in relation to SSBNX.

Seemed like it staged properly but its hard to say. Certainly hope so. Trident is the bulk of our strategic deterrence these days.
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Offline DeanG1967

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Re: What launched from Vandenberg
« Reply #31 on: 11/10/2015 03:58 am »
Note this bit from a previous pair of launches as described by Lockheed-Martin:
Quote
The test flights were part of a demonstration and shakedown operation, which the Navy uses to certify a submarine for deployment following an overhaul.
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/press-releases/2014/june/0604-ss-trident.html

I have absolutely no inside knowledge of SSBN design practices, but hypothesize they launch tests in pairs to validate each "leg" of a redundant fire control system.
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Offline jcm

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Re: What launched from Vandenberg
« Reply #32 on: 11/10/2015 04:19 am »
I assume all these tests are part of the LE program for the Trident.


Certainly DASO-24 and DASO-25 in 2013 and 2014 were acknowledged as part of the D5LE program.
One assumes DASO-26 is too.

Does anyone know the difference in current usage between the DASO and FCET launches? I guess the FCET ones
are more standard training and the DASO ones are more R&D instrumentation oriented?
FCET-49 and 50 appear to have been the Sep 2014 and Feb 2015 launches, but I haven't been able to find
which submarines performed the launches - if anyone knows please speak up. (keep an eye out for mission patches too)
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Offline Star One

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What launched from Vandenberg
« Reply #33 on: 11/10/2015 07:03 am »
I assume all these tests are part of the LE program for the Trident.


Certainly DASO-24 and DASO-25 in 2013 and 2014 were acknowledged as part of the D5LE program.
One assumes DASO-26 is too.

Does anyone know the difference in current usage between the DASO and FCET launches? I guess the FCET ones
are more standard training and the DASO ones are more R&D instrumentation oriented?
FCET-49 and 50 appear to have been the Sep 2014 and Feb 2015 launches, but I haven't been able to find
which submarines performed the launches - if anyone knows please speak up. (keep an eye out for mission patches too)

If you look in the suborbital thread it says it was the USS Kentucky.

And here's the relevant link.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-second-missile-launch-pentagon-20151109-story.html
« Last Edit: 11/10/2015 07:11 am by Star One »

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